Sylvie
by jai guru deva
Summary: Sirius Black is immediately attracted to Remus Lupin's younger sister Sylvie when she comes to Hogwarts, and romantic tension laced with humor and drama is high throughout their years at the school and the years leading up to that fateful Halloween. SBOC
1. Another Lupin Sorted

**AN: (Disclaimer) The only characters that are mine are the ones of whom you haven't heard. The rest belong to JK, of course. **

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**Another Lupin Sorted**

Sylvie Lupin was frightened. Yes, she was more mature than most of her potential Hogwarts classmates (some of this came from dealing with her older brother's condition, but mostly she was just naturally precocious), but the prospect of finally going to the school was admittedly daunting to the small, fair-haired 11-year-old.

"Sylvie? Sylvie, dear?" She heard her mother's voice from a distance. She shook her head quickly and looked up at her parents' kind faces.

"Are you ready to get on the train?"

Sylvie gulped and nodded, her doe-like eyes wide. She clutched her fluffy gray cat, Pepper, to her chest. The cat's warmth was somewhat soothing, but Sylvie still felt very nervous.

As if reading her mind, her brother patted her on the shoulder. "It'll be okay, Sylvie. If I can make it, you can." He smiled at her, comforting her. She smiled back and turned to kiss and hug her parents good-bye.

After she had turned to go, Mrs. Lupin said to Remus quickly, "Watch out for her, won't you? I know I needn't ask, but…" Her eyes filled with tears. Remus knew how hard it was for her to part with him the year before, and he could only imagine what it was like to say good-bye to the youngest, her baby.

"I will, Mum. Don't worry." She smiled weakly and kissed him on the forehead.

Sylvie had gotten to the door of the train when she realized that her brother was not with her. She knew she was being silly, but she turned back and looked at him expectantly and he jogged to where she stood.

"Ready? I can't wait for you to meet James and Peter and Sirius." Her brother looked so happy to be going back to the school, a place where he had finally found friends who accepted him for who, what, he was. She had noticed the change in him as soon as he arrived home for the summer; he was no longer sullen all the time, but quite joyful, telling stories of these new friends. Sylvie concluded that if Hogwarts could produce a happier Remus, then it could be nothing short of a wonderful place. Her fears dissolved as she stepped onto the train, her brother following closely behind her.

Sirius Black was thrilled. He could once again leave the House of Black on Grimmauld Place and go back to Hogwarts. He was the first of his friends onto the train, the most eager to get away from his parents. He couldn't have cared less about his younger brother; he was sure Regulus would make it fine on his own at Hogwarts, just as he did at home. Sirius only had bitter thoughts toward his brother, stemming from the fact that, ever since Sirius had been sorted into Gryffindor and not Slytherin, like the rest of his pure-blood-centric family, his parents had openly favored Regulus.

Sirius waited eagerly for his friends to arrive. James was the first; they greeted each other happily as James entered the compartment. Next was Peter, nervous-looking and pudgy as ever.

"Where's Remus?" James asked to no one in particular.

"I dunno, I didn't see him on the platform," Sirius responded nonchalantly.

"Do you reckon he's coming back?" asked Peter uncertainly. Sirius and James both gave him looks of incredulity and rolled their eyes, silencing him.

The next moment, the compartment door slid open once more. All the boys grinned as their friend walked through the door, followed by a small, pretty girl with caramel-colored eyes.

"'Lo everyone. This is my sister, Sylvie."

He gestured to Sylvie, who peeked out from behind her brother to see the three boys in the compartment. Remus took the seat next to the window across from James and Peter. Sylvie sat down (Pepper leapt gently from her lap to the floor and instantly began prowling about the compartment, sniffing around the strange boys' legs) next to Remus and found herself also next to a boy with long-ish dark hair and dark eyes. He was a bit haughty, she gathered, but he smiled a friendly smile at her nonetheless, and she smiled back, feeling less nervous.

"This is James Potter," he gestured to the laid-back-seeming black-haired boy across from him, "Peter Pettigrew," a pudgy, twitchy sort of boy who Sylvie, despite her kind nature, disliked instantly, "and Sirius Black," the dark-haired boy sitting next to her.

"Hi," she said brightly to all of them and smiled her pretty smile. "That's Pepper," she said, gesturing to the cat, who now, having decided that everyone was suitable, had curled up on the seat between she and Sirius and watched everyone with his great amber eyes.

Sirius decided that Remus' sister was instantly likable. She was much like her brother, perhaps a tad more confident. He thought that she was as pretty as a girl could be, with her doe-like eyes and her sandy hair.

"So which house would you like to be Sorted into, Sylvie?" James asked.

"Gryffindor, of course! That's what you're all in, right?"

They all nodded.

"Although, I wouldn't mind Ravenclaw."

Sirius snorted. "Ravenclaw's all right, but that lot's a bit boring, they've all got their noses in books all the time. Gryffindor is obviously better, it's got all of us in it."

Sylvie raised her eyebrows at him. "Our mother was in Ravenclaw."

"Oh, sorry..."

But Sylvie just laughed, thinking him definitely very haughty, but generally harmless. He _was _very good-looking, she thought. "Gryffindors have a lot of house pride, I know. Dad still takes the mickey out of mum sometimes for it. I don't think it's a bad thing."

Sirius smiled again, pleased by her sweet nature. His liking for her increased; he felt very fond of her indeed.

The conversation carried on pleasantly for a while. Sylvie thoroughly enjoyed Sirius and James, and even decided that Peter was tolerable, although she still felt something was off about him.

A while into the trip, however, there were visitors to the compartment. The door slid open to reveal three boys who looked to be the same age as Remus, Sirius, James, and Peter.

"Well, it looks like the four idiots are back again," said one of the boys viciously. Sylvie glanced around and saw equal looks of loathing on all the boys' faces. The boy who had spoken was pale and pinched-looking with a mean face.

"Oh, shove off, Avery," spat James as quick as lightning.

"Yeah, go get lost," Sirius piped up.

The mean-looking boy who had spoken before swept the compartment with his eyes. To her horror, they lingered on Sylvie for a moment before he said, "And it looks as though you've made a new little friend." He looked pointedly at Sirius, who was sitting next to her. "Who's this, Black, your girlfriend?"

Remus stood up to face him, followed quickly by James and Sirius, and, reluctantly, Peter (who more or less cowered behind his three friends as though he was waiting for the confrontation to be over).

"This is my sister—" Remus started angrily.

"And if you don't keep away from her, you'll have to answer to all of us!" Sirius finished.

Sylvie was slightly surprised, but also touched, by the boys' reaction.

"We'll ask you kindly to leave now," said James calmly, "and after the count of three, we won't be so kind."

At some point, Pepper had jumped down from the seat and was now hissing at the intruders, obviously unnerved that his peaceful rest had been disturbed.

Avery narrowed his eyes and glared at all of them, then left with his cohorts, to Sylvie's great relief. She beamed at all of them in thanks, extra-brightly at Sirius. The rest of the ride had gone without further disturbance.

Once they had arrived at Hogsmeade station, the castle loomed over them.

"Firs' years this way, firs' years over here!" bellowed a voice. Sylvie recognized Hagrid immediately, Remus had told her all about him. She was no longer afraid, but excitement overwhelmed her like never before. On the train ride, the boys had told her about the boat ride across the lake and about the Sorting, evermore increasing her excitement.

She looked up at Remus, about to say good-bye, but before she could he spoke first. "You'd better give Pepper to me, I don't think he'll much enjoy a boat ride,"

"Oh, right," she giggled and handed her brother the cat. "Well, I'll see you all in a bit then!" she said to the boys.

They wished her good luck and headed off towards the carriages as Sylvie trounced off happily to where the other first years were gathering around the massive Hagrid.

She and four other girls had gotten onto one of the boats and it had begun to move across the great, dark lake. She looked around in wonder before introducing herself to the other girls in the boat with her. "I'm Sylvie Lupin," she said in her bright way. "Hi, Sylvie, I'm Vanessa Garrett," said a girl with long, brown hair and dark brown eyes. "This is Samantha Moore, Holly Bridges, and Kate Preston. We met on the train." The other girls smiled at her in a friendly way. Sylvie was beginning to like Hogwarts more and more.

The girls talked about which houses they'd like to be in (to Sylvie's delight, they all said Gryffindor or Ravenclaw) and about their families. All of a sudden, Sylvie heard a distinct twittering. She immediately became nervous. To confirm her fears, she heard Hagrid's voice booming from ahead of them, "Don't mind the bats, they're harmless!" Bats, to her, were not harmless at all, but one of the things that frightened her most. She heard one swoop right by her head and squealed.

"Ugh, I hate bats!" said Sylvie, looking around wildly to make sure there were no more. "I wonder where the giant squid is," she said, gazing into the dark water.

"Giant squid?" asked Kate, perplexed.

"Yeah, my brother told me about it, he's a second year. It lives here in the lake!"

Sylvie was extremely thankful that Remus had taken care of Pepper, as she was sure her beloved cat would never have forgave her for the boat experience.

When the first years had reached the shore, Hagrid shouted, "Everyone all right'? Anyone fall in?"

The timid looking first years all shook their heads.

"Good, good! Inside now, ev'ryone!"

As the first years crowded into the Great Hall, they were met by a very stern looking woman, who Sylvie realized must have been Professor McGonagall.

"Please line up, all of you, for you are about to be Sorted into your Hogwarts house. The students in your house will live with you, eat with you, and take classes with you, so you much be Sorted according to your personality," she said upon seeing the group of first years.

The first years entered the Hall in a single file line. As the first person was called to the stool to put on the hat, Sylvie raked her eyes over the Gryffindor table, trying to find Remus and his friends.

Remus had been talking joyfully with his friends and fellow Gryffindors when he heard the doors open and saw McGonagall leading the line of first years into the Hall. He recognized Sylvie immediately, as she was so much smaller than all the other first years. He could tell she was raring to go.

"Oh, God, I hope she doesn't fall," he mused as James and Sirius, who were seated next to him, laughed.

Remus caught Sylvie's eye and she waved, positively beaming.

The line of children moved steadily onward, and very soon, McGonagall called out, "Lupin, Sylvie!" At this, Sylvie rushed forward excitedly, stumbling a bit in her haste, and put on the ancient hat.

"Another Lupin!" it exclaimed. "Well, well, just like your brother, you'd be well suited for Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. You've sure got brains, but you've also got loads of bravery. Well, then, it'll be…GRYFFINDOR!"

Sylvie squealed in excitement as she went to join her brother and his friends, as well as Vanessa and Holly, who had also been Sorted into Gryffindor, at the cheering table. Remus moved over to make room for her on the bench, and again, she sat between him and Sirius.

"Congratulations!" Remus said happily.

Samantha and Kate ended up in Ravenclaw, to Sylvie's slight disappointment, but nothing could quell her happiness now that she was finally at Hogwarts and Sorted into the house of her choice. As she, Vanessa, and Holly settled into their beds that night, she felt warm and content as she drifted off to sleep, Pepper curled warmly next to her chest.

The next week went by surprisingly smoothly for Sylvie and her friends. They made it to all of their classes without much trouble. Near the end of the week, however, Sylvie's bag broke open while she and Vanessa and Holly were near the Transfiguration classroom.

"Oh, no!" she exclaimed. She told the others to go on without her, that it would be no trouble for her to clean it up. She didn't want them to be late because of her. She had to persuade them very strongly before they would leave her.

As she was bent over, picking up her things, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned to see Avery and Mulciber, Avery's equally unpleasant friend.

"Well, look who we have here!" exclaimed Avery. "It's _Lupin's _titchy little sister!"

"You don't have your boys around to protect you now, do you, little girl?" growled Mulciber.

Sylvie was terrified, frozen in her place with her wand out, even though she wouldn't know the first thing to do in the present situation.

"I think we should teach those idiots a lesson, using little Miss Lupin here, what do you think, Mulciber?" Avery sneered.

"I think that's the best idea you've had in a while, Avery," Mulciber replied as they closed in on Sylvie. She whimpered helplessly.

She screwed up her face as she heard the incantation, and then she felt immense pain in her nose. She touched the area and felt blood on her hand.

In the next moment, she heard a loud voice call out from behind Mulciber and Avery. She looked up and saw, to her great relief, that Sirius Black was coming towards them.

"Hexing a little girl, are you? Could you two gits sink any lower?"

"Oh, here to save your little girlfriend, are you, Black?" Avery jeered.

Sirius had his want out in a split second and yelled the incantation faster than either Avery or Mulciber could make a move. Suddenly, after a flash of light, they both fell onto the floor, their legs wobbling unnaturally.

If the hex hadn't been as painful as it was, and if her nose weren't still steadily bleeding, Sylvie would have found it very amusing.

Sirius looked at her, still raging and breathing very hard. Suddenly, a door opened behind her and Professor McGonagall, accompanied by the Transfiguration class, stormed into the hall. Sylvie turned to face her, horrified. McGonagall surveyed the scene, then asked, "What on earth has happened here?"

"Professor, they—they hexed be, it's dot Sirius' fault! He hexed them after he saw what they did to be!" Sylvie cried, still clutching her nose.

"Let me see your face, Miss Lupin," McGonagall said calmly. Sylvie slowly lowered her hand and heard McGonagall and the class gasp collectively. Sirius, too, walked around to see the damage. Once he did, he began to seethe even more.

Sylvie's nose was swollen to the size of a tennis ball and bleeding profusely down her face.

"Mulciber and Avery did this to you?" McGonagall asked.

Sylvie nodded. Sirius discreetly stepped back and hard onto one of Avery's hands. Avery howled in pain.

"Mr. Black! That's quite enough! Five points from Gryffindor for unnecessary hexing in the corridor. You should have gotten me expressly."

"But they would have maimed her by then!" Sirius shouted indignantly.

"Watch your tongue, Mr. Black, or it will be ten," McGonagall said coolly. Sirius was quiet, but an ugly look remained on his face. "As for you two," she barked at Avery and Mulciber, who were still lying on the ground, their legs wobbling. "Fifty points from Slytherin and detention for attacking a student unprovoked in the corridor. _Finite incantatem!_" She turned to Sirius and Sylvie. "Black, please escort Miss Lupin to the hospital wing, then kindly return to you class. Sirius nodded curtly, then gently took hold of Sylvie's arm and led her down the corridor.

Once out of earshot of McGonagall, Sirius began to rant. "I can't believe those scumbags. It's one thing to jinx me or James or Remus or even Peter, but you…" He made a frustrated noise.

"What was that jinx you used on theb? That bade their legs go all wobbly?" she asked.

Sirius grinned. "The Jellylegs Jinx. Works like a charm, doesn't it?"

"Yeah! It was great!" She tried to grin back, but it hurt her nose too much. "Ow!" she groaned.

"Don't move your face too much," he said, examining her face. "Cor, I've never seen anything like that before!"

Sylvie flushed. "Do I look that badly?" she said timidly.

"What? Oh, no, no, of course not!" he said, his heart leaping, angry with himself for his insensitivity. "In fact, I don't think anyone else could still look pretty with a swollen, bloody nose!"

Sylvie flushed again, but for a different reason. "You think I'b pretty?" she asked without thinking, wishing she hadn't as soon as the words left her mouth.

Sirius glanced at her. "Yeah, I do, even for a little squirt," he said, grinning again.

She laughed, forgetting how much this increased the pain in her nose. "Ow! Stop baking be laugh!" she exclaimed.

"Sorry," he said. Suddenly, the audacity of the whole situation dawned on him, and he became more angry than before. "I can't wait to pay those gits back for what they did to you. Wait until Remus, James, and Peter hear about this. Mulciber and Avery won't know what hit them."

"Sirius, don't do eddything that'll get you id trouble!" Sylvie said exasperatedly.

Sirius looked at her worried face again. "Don't you worry, Sylvie, they won't be able to prove a thing." He looked up. They had arrived at the hospital wing. "Here we are," he said, opening the door and letting her walk in ahead of him.

Madam Pomfrey gasped in shock upon seeing Sylvie's face. "What's happened?" she exclaimed.

"She was hexed in the corridor, Madam," Sirius explained, his anger bubbling up again. "By Slytherins."

"Oh, well, you need to get into bed immediately, Miss—"

"Lupid," Sylvie answered.

"Ah, Remus is your brother. Very nice boy," she said, smiling kindly. "Thank you for escorting her, Mr. Black. You may go back to your class now."

"But, I thought I'd stay with her, make sure she's all right—" Sirius began.

"I assure you, she'll be perfectly fine. The damage is minimal."

Sirius looked apologetically at Sylvie. "It's ok," she said quietly. "Thanks for…everything."

Sirius nodded and turned to leave.

Upon arriving back at his class, (which was History of Magic so his absence was not questioned by the droning Professor Binns) he sat next to Remus and James, who looked at him questioningly.

"You will not believe what just happened," he hissed angrily. They listened intently as he explained the prior events, Remus' face slackening in horror.

"Well, we've got to pay them back," Remus said when Sirius had finished. Sirius and James looked at him in surprise at Remus, who was usually so reposed. "What? It's my sister we're talking about!" he replied. Sirius and James smirked knowingly as they put their heads together and planned what they would do to the unfortunate Slytherin boys.

Two days later, Mulciber and Avery walked into the Great Hall for breakfast, yawning complacently. They noticed immediately that people were pointing and laughing at them. They looked at each other and howled in horror. Both boys were completely bald and had a word on their foreheads spelled out in huge, red pimples. Mulciber's said "Scummy" and Avery's said "Git."

Sylvie, whose nose, thanks to Madam Pomfrey, had returned completely to normal, spotted them immediately, as their heads were very shiny. She, Vanessa, and Holly, as well as the rest of the Gryffindor table (who had all been told of Mulciber's and Avery's hexing of Sylvie in the common room two nights ago) laughed heartily at the two of them.

Sylvie turned, beaming, to Sirius, James, Remus and Peter and said, "Well done, boys, well done."

Sirius felt a warm feeling rise into his chest as Sylvie turned back to her laughing friends.


	2. The Revelation and Dashed Affections

**The Revelation and Dashed Affections**

The next three years were the happiest of Sylvie's life. Vanessa and Holly were the best friends she'd ever had. She also very much enjoyed the company of Remus and his friends, whom she liked very much and found extremely amusing, if not sometimes out of line.

She was extremely anxious to see Vanessa and Holly as she boarded the Hogwarts Express for the her fourth year. Both girls had been away for the summer, traveling with their parents, so Sylvie had not been able to see either of them.

She was closely followed by Remus, Sirius, James, and Peter, who, to Sylvie's delight, had all come to stay at the Lupins' house for the last few weeks of holidays.

"Sylvie!" someone squealed as soon as Sylvie had reached the corridor. Vanessa leapt into her arms; Sylvie hugged her back excitedly.

"I'm so happy to see you! I missed you so much!" Sylvie exclaimed.

"Bloody hell, it's like you haven't seen each other in years!" Sirius jeered good-naturedly.

"Oh, shut up, Sirius, it's been ages!" Sylvie laughed as she hugged Holly, who had also come out into the corridor.

Sirius rolled his eyes at her. "Well, enough with the dawdling, the compartment's right here." he told her.

Sylvie gave him a funny look over her shoulder as she was dragged off by her friends, like he should know she was going to sit with Vanessa and Holly. He heard her laughing as she disappeared into a compartment with her friends.

Sirius watched her back as she went, noticing how shiny her fair hair was. He was slightly annoyed that she didn't want to sit with the him and the boys, but then he scolded himself for feeling that way. Why shouldn't she go sit with her own friends? He had only gotten used to her being around all the time over the past few weeks. Still, he couldn't help but notice how pretty she'd gotten over the years. She had grown, but she was still quite small, she only reached his shoulder while they were both standing (of course, this wasn't saying much, as Sirius was quite tall for his age). Whenever he had spoken to her over the last few weeks of summer, her big, bright, caramel-colored eyes sparkled alluringly.

He thought back to what was, for him, both the best and worst moment of the summer. He had woken in the middle of the night, as he sometimes did, and was restless, so he fancied a walk down by the lake near Remus' house. He crept quietly out of the house, careful not to wake anyone up, and down along the path to the lake. Upon his arrival, he was startled to see Sylvie sitting at the edge of the small dock, her bare feet absentmindedly skimming the water in the cool air just before the break of dawn.

For a moment, Sirius considered going back to the house and leaving her to herself, but then he realized how silly this was. They were friends, weren't they? Why should he feel apprehensive? Deep down, he knew why, but he silenced the uproar within him and walked down to the dock.

He noticed that she was sitting on the very edge of the dock so that her feet could just reach the water. As he walked up behind her, she must have sensed him because she turned, let out a yelp, and, to Sirius' horror, teetered right off the edge of the dock. Without a split second's thought, Sirius kicked off his shoes and jumped in after her.

He pulled her the short distance to the shore and they both collapsed on the ground.

"Thanks," she said breathlessly, turning to him.

His breath caught in his throat. The way the twilight hit her face made her look positively angelic. Her doe-like eyes shone in the light, and her fair hair was tousled and soaking wet, reminding him of her in her first year at the Sorting. The look on her face now was not one of excitement, however, but a more serene, intense look.

"Just—just can't keep out of trouble, can you?" he sputtered.

She giggled and stood up slowly. Sirius stood up as well.

His eyes traveled down her body as she reached down to straighten out the pajama shorts she was wearing. She was wearing an oversized off-white t-shirt that clung to her soaking body; it was evident to Sirius that she wasn't wearing anything underneath it and she had definitely grown since the last time he'd seen her this close. He couldn't recall her ever looking as beautiful as she had at that moment. It was all he could do to wrench his eyes away from her perfect body and occupy himself with straightening out his own clothes.

"So…you couldn't sleep either," she mused. He could feel her looking at him and he looked up. She was standing facing him with her arms folded over her chest.

"Yeah," he grunted, again getting lost in her eyes. He stepped closer to her and she did not step back. Without really knowing or thinking about what he was doing, he put his hands on her waist and pulled her even closer. Before she had time to respond, he was kissing her. Her lips tasted exactly as he'd imagined they would. He experienced a few more moments of ecstasy before his thoughts returned to reality as she gently pushed him away.

"Sirius," she said in the softest of voices. He couldn't deny that he liked hearing her say his name.

"I'm sorry, Sylvie," he said immediately, stepping away from her. "I shouldn't have done that."

She surveyed him for what seemed like ages, an unreadable expression on her face, biting her lip uncertainly. Then she turned and began to walk back to the house. She stopped and turned back once more. "I don't think we should…let Remus know about this," she said. Sirius nodded curtly and she turned and resumed walking.

Sirius exhaled deeply and paced a bit, wanting to give her time to get back to the house before he started off himself. She had kissed him back, but she had pushed him away as well…but she was right. It would upset Remus very much if he knew that his little sister was kissing Sirius Black, of all people.

That day, Sylvie acted as though nothing had happened between them at the lake, although she did blush slightly at the sight of Sirius at breakfast. After that, they had gone back to being very friendly.

"Sirius? Sirius!" someone was yelling in his ear. Sirius shook out of his reverie. James was looking at him quizzically. Sirius knew James had just seen him staring after Sylvie.

James raised his eyebrows. "Don't even think about it, mate. Moony's little sister. Off-limits."

Sirius rolled his eyes in his haughty way. He hadn't even told James what happened by the lake. "Don't know what you're talking about," he said in a falsely nonchalant voice as he and walked back past James into their compartment, knowing that nothing anyone said could make him stop thinking about Sylvie.

Sylvie had been very confused by Sirius' kiss by the lake. It was on her mind as her two friends chatted joyfully in the compartment. She sat by the window, looking out at the sunny passing landscape pensively. What had he meant by it? Was it just an impulsive move or did he do it because he really liked her? Knowing Sirius, it was probably the former, but the look on his face beforehand had touched her. She sighed.

"Sylvie, what's wrong? You haven't said two words!" Vanessa said.

"Oh…sorry, I'm just a little tired," she said quickly. She had decided it would be best not to tell her friends what had happened, lest Remus should find out somehow, which was the last thing she wanted to happen. She knew it would hurt him to know she had kissed his best friend, especially considering Sirius' reputation with girls. The thought made her stomach squirm unpleasantly.

"So, tell us how it was having James and Sirius living at your house for two weeks!" Holly squealed. "I'm so jealous!"

"It was, you know, really fun. They're a lot of fun," Sylvie said feebly.

"That's all?" Holly asked. Sylvie shrugged.

"Did Sirius finally make a move?" Vanessa asked matter of factly, giving Sylvie a jolt.

"No, why, what have you heard?" she said, perhaps a little too aggressively.

"Nothing, geez, I just noticed that he stares at you a lot, like, in the common room and stuff. And he's always trying to be extra-funny around you, more than he usually does. I think he really likes you," she said.

"Really? I don't think so. He's Remus' best friend!" Sylvie said, her heart beating strangely fast. She hadn't noticed that he'd acted differently around her before he'd actually kissed her.

"So what? If you don't want him, I'll take him, he's bloody gorgeous," Holly said, smirking.

Sylvie narrowed her eyes, but didn't say another word on the subject.

"So, how did your summers go?" she asked nonchalantly as the train ride wore on.

Sylvie was running late for class. She'd forgotten a book in her dormitory and had told Vanessa and Holly to go on without her. As soon as she grabbed the missing book from her trunk, she sprinted out of the dormitory and across the common room. Just as she reached the portrait hole, it flung open before her. Without a second thought, she began to plow through it. She collided head on with a tall boy with very dark hair and almost fell to the ground.

Sirius grabbed both of Sylvie's arms to prevent her from falling. When they had collided, he'd caught a strong whiff of her rosy smell, which made him slightly dizzy. He'd grown very tired of their constant close, awkward moments, which he found both thrilling and frustrating. He was not used to having to repress such feelings.

"Sylvie…" he began.

"Sorry, Sirius, I'm running late!" she said.

He lifted her gently up by her arms and pulled her close to him, perhaps to close, but he didn't care.

Sylvie noticed how strong Sirius' arms were as he pulled her up. His large, square hands had no trouble at all closing around her small forearms. She was momentarily dazed as he spoke in her ear.

"Meet me in the common room tonight after everyone's gone to bed. We need to talk."

She looked at him in shock for a moment, then broke free of his grasp. "I really need to go, Sirius." With that, she ran off to her class.

Immediately after he'd said it, Sirius knew he'd done the wrong thing. He had his pick of any girl in the school and he had to set his sights on the one who happened to be his best friend's little sister. He slumped into a chair by the fire.

He wasn't even sure that she liked him back. Yes, she had returned the kiss by the lake, but he still couldn't understand why she'd pushed him away. He knew other boys wanted to go out with her, he'd heard them talking about how pretty she'd gotten, although not in quite as polite terms. It made his blood boil every time he heard something like this, but he knew it shouldn't. He had no right to feel this way; she wasn't his, he wasn't entitled to rage at someone who talked about her. He could use brotherly affection as an excuse, he supposed, but he couldn't deny that it was so much more than that, and he definitely knew that none of his intentions were brotherly. _But she probably won't even come, _he thought dejectedly.

Sylvie stayed in her dormitory for the majority of the night, as she didn't want to see Sirius. Not yet, at least. Not until she'd sorted things out in her mind. She knew Sirius liked her, perhaps very much. She knew, very deep down, that she liked him too. There were just so many factors that stood between them!

First of all, there was his reputation with girls. She knew he'd had at least three girlfriends already, while she'd not even had a boyfriend yet. She hadn't admitted it to him, but their kiss by the lake had been her first. She had always thought that it would be with someone with whom she was going out, not on the sly with her older brother's best friend.

Remus…he would be so upset if he knew what had happened, what could happen between Sirius and Sylvie. It killed her to know that she could hurt him so badly. She couldn't deny, however, that it excited her that Sirius Black was interested in her. She shook her head unconsciously. _He probably just wants to apologize again, or something…_ she thought, even though she knew she was in denial. She had seen the look in his eyes, both at the lake and today in the portrait hole. She sighed. She had to meet him. Regardless of what he had to say, she knew that she couldn't disrespect him by standing him up.

Sirius grew more and more nervous as time wore on. He hadn't seen her in the common room all night. He tried to sit with his friends and convincingly act as though everything was normal, but it was difficult. The worst was the guilt. He couldn't bring himself to breach the subject with Remus. So he pretended.

Once the population of the common room began to dwindle around 11 o' clock, Sirius looked up and saw Sylvie coming out of the girl's dormitory door. She caught his eyes only for a split second, then sat down at a table across the room from him and began to do homework. He was excited. As one by one his friends left (Remus was last), Sirius, too, did homework. At least, he feigned doing homework as he couldn't concentrate, he was too nervous.

Finally, everyone was gone except for Sirius and Sylvie. She looked up and around the room, then slowly stood up and walked over to sit in a chair by the fire, near Sirius'.

"Sylvie, I—"

"Sirius—"

They both began to speak at once, then stopped. Sylvie blushed. Sirius looked down at his hands in his lap.

"Sylvie, I…I love you." He'd known it from the moment he looked into her eyes on the bank of the lake.

Sylvie gasped. It was not what she had expected to hear. "I…I don't know what to say," she said slowly.

"You can't say you didn't know. You're all I think about."

"But…but…all those other girls…?" Sylvie sputtered.

"I wanted them all to be you. I know you're Remus' sister, but I can't take it anymore."

"Remus wouldn't like this…" she said feebly, not meeting Sirius' eyes.

"I can't take the awkward moments when I smell you," he continued, somewhat aggressively, "and I think about the taste of your lips, how they felt, how they could feel again…" He leaned closer to Sylvie. She sat frozen in shock. Their faces were inches away. Sylvie became aware that Sirius had placed his hand on her knee. His eyes were intense. "Sylvie…" he murmured, leaning ever closer.

She jumped up suddenly, startling him. "Sirius, please!" She turned to leave.

Sirius stood up too. "Sylvie!" he almost shouted.

"You know we can't do this," she whispered.

He walked closer to her. "Why did you kiss me back?" he demanded.

"What—?"

"By the lake this summer. Why didn't you just push me away right away instead of kissing me back?"

"I—it was the moment, Sirius, you took me by surprise—"

"That's bollocks, Sylvie, and you know it. What are you afraid of?" He was breathing quite heavily now, and he was close again.

Something inside Sylvie snapped. She thought back to Holly's comment about Sirius on the train, and back to her second year, when she had seen Sirius kissing his girlfriend of the moment, Catherine, in a deserted classroom. She opened the door to see Catherine sitting on a desk and Sirius standing in front of her, his hands gripping her waist. She had shut the door quickly and quietly and had returned to the common room. The next thing she knew, she was in her dormitory, flopped out on her bed with the curtains shut around her, crying hysterically without knowing why.

As much as she did like Sirius her impression of him was seriously damaged; she couldn't believe that she was the only one he'd set his sights on. She had grown up not trusting anyone but her family, had seen Remus hurt so many times by the neighborhood children whose parents had told them to keep away from him, even though he was a perfectly nice boy, just because of what he became every full moon. Everything she had learned about people in her youth, and even during her time at Hogwarts, she realized, as much as she hated to, that Sirius Black probably wouldn't change.

"What am I afraid of? I'm afraid that as soon as I say I like you back, that Remus will find out about this and be upset and never speak to either of us again."

He didn't respond, knowing that she was right. She continued.

"My first kiss was when you kissed me by the lake, Sirius," she said. He was shocked and immediately felt guilty. "You didn't know that, did you?"

It was Sirius' turn to stutter now. "No, I—I—"

"No, you didn't. Once another girl catches your eye, I'm afraid you won't be able to resist, just like you couldn't resist kissing me, just like you couldn't resist making me come down here late at night and talk to you."

"I told you, you're different! If you said you loved me back, there would never be another girl as long as I live!" he exclaimed. She felt her eyes sting with tears. "And I didn't _make _you do anything, Sylvie. You didn't have to come down here. You could have just hidden up in your dormitory for the rest of the night. But you did come, and you did kiss me back that day, I felt it."

"So I have to pay for a moment of weakness forever?" she said angrily. "And a million girls have 'kissed you back,' Sirius, surely you didn't fall in love with all of them."

Sirius felt as though he'd been slapped in the face. "A moment of weakness?" he said slowly. "So you're too strong to let yourself like someone you know you like just because you're afraid of what other people will think? What do I have to do, Sylvie? What do I have to do to prove to you that I love you?"

"No, that's not it, I—" But he cut her off by grabbing her shoulders and kissing her. He had to know.

She was enraged, but something inside her wouldn't let her break the embrace. He pulled her over to a couch and sat them both down, still kissing her fervently. She loved the way his lips felt on hers, but she knew it was wrong, so wrong. But why wasn't she stopping?

His hands traveled down to her waist and her arms found their way around his shoulders.

They broke apart to catch their breaths, then Sirius began kissing her cheek and neck. It felt beyond wonderful. _What am I doing?_ said a voice in her head. One of his hands began to move up her abdomen. "Sylvie…" he murmured again in a husky voice. She snapped back to reality. It was too much. She placed her hands on his chest and pushed him off of her.

"Stop!" she shouted, tears in her eyes again. She didn't want to, but she knew she had to.

And with that, she went through the door to the girls' dormitory, slamming it behind her, and left him alone once more. He was so frustrated, he picked up one of his books and hurled it at the door Sylvie had just shut. It thudded loudly upon impact.

He slumped into a chair and put his head in his hands, again feeling guilty for kissing her, especially as aggressively as he had. He'd scared her off, he knew it. Suddenly, he felt something rub against his leg and jumped. He looked down and it was Sylvie's fluffy gray cat Pepper. Pepper meowed softly and sat in front of Sirius, looking up at him with doleful amber eyes.

Sirius sighed. "You and me both, mate."


	3. Captain and Prefect

**Captain and Prefect**

Callahan Knightley was a boy of many talents. He was the Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, playing the position of Chaser, and a prefect, well poised to become Head Boy next year. He was tall and built burly; he had broad shoulders and strong features with blue eyes and light brown hair, which he kept short in length. Although he was for the most part polished in appearance, he still had a rugged, tough look about him. He was ambitious and focused, but very modest and even kind, a surprising demeanor for someone who cut such an imposing figure.

On a particularly busy day, what with N.E.W.T. level work and Quidditch plans to make, Callahan found himself in the common room, poring over the game plan for the upcoming match against Ravenclaw. The parchment upon which he was almost done scribbling plans was lying on top of the Potions essay he had just finished. Feeling the weight of stress finally beginning to lift from his shoulders, he sighed as he lifted the plans to his eyes and edited them. He would discuss them with his team at the next practice. He put down the parchment. He began to clean up his materials. The next practice…the thought reminded him that he'd yet neglected to tell his team the time and date. He looked around the common room.

He immediately saw Black and Potter, Chaser and Seeker, respectively, who were surrounded by laughing classmates. Within this group were the two Beaters, Crawford and Lawrence, and the other Chaser, Vanessa Garrett. He noticed that the Keeper, Langley, was absent. He also noticed among the group was Sylvie Lupin.

He'd first seen Sylvie about a week ago in the library. He'd been sitting alone, working on an essay for Transfiguration when he'd seen her walk in. She seemed preoccupied and slightly frazzled, looking around for the librarian. The library was empty except for the Slytherins Avery and Mulciber. She eyed them warily as she walked further into the room. As she passed Callahan's table, she noticed him, and stopped.

"Excuse me," she said in a small, polite voice. "But you wouldn't happen to know of a good book for an essay on transfiguring living things into inanimate objects, would you?"

Callahan blinked and looked up at her from where he sat. He didn't think he'd ever seen a girl so pretty, and wondered to himself how he'd never noticed her before. He cleared his throat. "It's funny you should ask, I'm working on Transfiguration myself just now." She grinned. He gave her the name of a book that he remembered using in his fourth year and offered to help her find it.

"Thanks so much, that'd be great," she said brightly. Her grin seemed to light up the otherwise dim room, as the weather had been dismal that day.

He stood and walked her over to the Transfiguration section and, after a few minutes of scanning titles and authors, he found the book and handed it to her, and they walked back to his table.

Again, he noticed her eyeing the Slytherins warily. "Do you mind if I sit here?" she asked in the same quiet, almost timid voice as before.

"No, no, of course not, go right ahead," he said, very aware of his heart thumping in his chest. "And if you need any help with that essay, don't hesitate to ask me."

"Thanks," she said happily. "I'm Sylvie Lupin, by the way."

"Callahan Knightley," he said, smiling at her. "Is your brother Remus, the prefect?" he asked, feeling a glimmer of recognition.

"Yes, he is," she replied.

"So, you'll be in Gryffindor, then?"

"Of course," she smiled. He grew even happier. "And speaking of Gryffindor, I really hope you beat Ravenclaw in the match coming up."

"How did you know I'm on the team?" he asked, surprised.

"Well, you're the Captain, aren't you?" she said incredulously. "Everyone knows who you are, especially after that amazing final against Slytherin last year." She blushed slightly after her slight outburst.

His heart thumped ever faster. She knew who he was, _and_ she'd remembered the House Cup final last year, perhaps his finest performance on the Quidditch field. He grinned again as she began work on her essay.

They sat in silence for some time. Callahan stole glances at her every now and then as she worked. Her hair created a fair curtain around her face as she bent her head over her essay, but he could still see some of her large, soft brown eyes. After it had grown reasonably dark outside, they decided to go back to the common room. He was delighted again as she finished packing up and waited expectantly as he finished clearing the table of his things. They had walked back to the common room together, and once they reached it, Sylvie said she was going to bed.

"Thanks, again, for everything, Callahan," she said, grinning once more.

"Any time, Sylvie," he said.

He watched her disappear behind the door to the girls' dormitory, utterly spellbound.

He of course wanted to ask her out, but he couldn't quite find the nerve. He wondered to himself how he could be so daring on the Quidditch field and off (he was working towards becoming an Auror), but he couldn't ask out a girl, a fourth year no less. He'd almost done it a few times in the common room, but she'd always been with Vanessa, Black, or Potter, and if she rejected him…Well, who could respect him as their Quidditch captain if they saw him being rejected by a fourth year?

He shook his head and walked over to the group assembled around Black and Potter.

"Hello, Knightley," Potter said amiably as he saw Callahan approach.

"Hello, Potter, Black," he nodded to James and Sirius, as well as the rest of the team. "I just wanted to tell you all that we're going to have a practice next week on Tuesday night."

"Great," said Vanessa with a tiny hint of sarcasm.

"Well, have a nice night, everyone," he said. Then he looked at Sylvie. "Hello, Sylvie. Are you well?" he asked.

"Hi, Callahan," she said brightly, looking up at him and grinning. "Yes, I'm quite well, how are you?"

"Very well, thanks," he said. An brief but awkward silence followed. "Well, good night," he said, more to Sylvie than anyone else.

"Good night," she replied pleasantly.

She felt her face flush as everyone stared at her, including Sirius, who had been quite standoffish around her lately.

"How do you know Callahan Knightley?" Remus, who was also at the table, asked her with raised eyebrows.

"I met him in the library last week," she said. She had found him very attractive, with his broad shoulders and blue eyes, and felt very comfortable around him. She had been initially nervous to approach him, but she hadn't wanted to sit alone in the library with Avery and Mulciber in such close proximity. The memory of their attack on her in her first year still burned in her memory. "He helped me with my Transfiguration essay."

"Oh," said Remus. He'd seen that Knightley clearly liked his sister, and although he disliked the idea of anyone fancying her, he guessed that if it were to be anyone, it had might as well be Knightley. Remus knew him from being a prefect, and he had a good opinion of Knightley.

"Looks like he fancies someone," James said snidely.

Sylvie rolled her eyes, still flushed. "Why would he fancy me, James?" she said exasperatedly.

Vanessa snorted. "You're well suited for each other, if that's the case. You're both so modest it's maddening."

Sirius was uncharacteristically silent. He had seen the look in Knightley had given Sylvie, and he hadn't liked it one bit. His opinion of Knightley went to one of respectability to one close to loathing. And the way she had looked at him! He would have given anything for her to look at him that way just once. He found the others' goading of Sylvie about Callahan very irritating and after a while could no longer stand to be there.

"I'm tired," he announced curtly. "I think I'll go to bed."

"But it's early, Padfoot," James said.

"Yeah, well, I've had a long day," he said, glaring at Sylvie for a moment before turning and walking away.

Although she played along with the others' ponderings of Sirius' departure, deep down, Sylvie knew exactly why he'd gone, and felt a pang of guilt when he left. His glare had pierced her like a knife.

--

Sylvie was having, for once, a slow day as far as her work was concerned. It was only late afternoon when she had finished everything up. She had to admit to herself, she had amazing organizational skills.

It had been almost three weeks since her encounter with Sirius. They hadn't spoken in that time, hadn't even so much as met each other's eyes, with the exception of when he glared at her in the common room after Callahan had told them about the practice. This hurt Sylvie very much; she had always loved Sirius as a friend; even though he was a bit haughty and obnoxious, he'd always made her laugh. She knew that he was a good person. Sometimes she regretted rejecting him when she thought about how much she missed him.

Just as she was closing her book, Vanessa left the girls' dormitory carrying her broomstick. She smiled when she saw Sylvie, and Sylvie smiled back.

"Off to Quidditch practice?" Sylvie asked.

"Yeah, Knightley's gone insane with all these extra practices! Want to come and watch?"

Sylvie thought about it. She would have to see Sirius if she went to the practice, but it was the first sunny day after a week of rain, and Sylvie hadn't been outside at all. And, although she felt stupid for thinking of it, Callahan would be there. The prospect was very tempting.

"Yes, I think I'll come," she said, getting up. She had begun reading a very interesting book from the library the other day and decided to bring it along.

As soon as they'd stepped outside, Sylvie felt the cool, crisp autumn air on her face. She inhaled deeply. She and Vanessa chatted idly and happily on the way up to the pitch.

Sylvie's breath caught in her throat when she saw James and Sirius walking a ways in front of them. Vanessa walked very quickly, as she was a few inches taller than Sylvie and could therefore take longer strides. Sylvie longed to slow down, but didn't want to give herself away. They were going to have to pass the boys.

"Look who it is," Vanessa said. "Oi, James, Sirius!"

Both boys turned around quickly; James smiled and waved, clearly intending to wait for them. Sylvie thought for a minute that Sirius was going to keep walking once her recognized it was her who was behind him, but he didn't. When the girls had reached the boys, Sylvie saw that Sirius had a very uncomfortable look on his face. He caught her eye just for a moment, then seemed to look everywhere but her. Sylvie's stomach dropped.

"'Lo, Vanessa, Sylvie. Everything well?" James asked happily enough, though Sylvie noticed that his usual jovial tone was missing.

"Oh, you know, same old…I'm a bit miffed about this mad practice schedule, though, it's like Knightley doesn't realize we have work do!" Vanessa complained good-naturedly.

To Sylvie's horror, Vanessa and James walked ahead, talking about Quidditch, and left her and Sirius in extremely awkward silence.

They walking along in this fashion for some time, until it was too much for Sylvie to bear. They had been friends before, why couldn't they be now?

"Are we ever going to speak to each other again?" she asked him quietly, so the others couldn't hear.

Sirius didn't answer immediately, and didn't look at her either. "I just…don't know what to think about you," he began slowly. "You seem like such a sweet girl, but you lead me on like it's your job—"

"Lead you on? Sirius, you kissed me!" she hissed indignantly.

"Yeah, but again, you kissed me back! And then, again, you pushed me away! How do you think that makes me feel? I should have just left well enough alone," he said heavily.

She felt, if it was possible, worse about the situation. "I—I just want it to go back to the way it was," she said sadly.

"It won't. I can't do that, Sylvie, I can't just be your friend. I've tried that, remember? I've tried it for the past three years and it doesn't work for me, it's like torture." he finally looked at her. Her cheeks were pink from the chilly air, and, no doubt, from the passion of his words. They had reached the pitch. "I have to change for practice now."

With that, he turned and walked in to the locker room with James and Vanessa.

Sylvie, who felt her eyes sting and tears roll down her face, considered going back to the common room, but then she thought about having to explain to Vanessa why she'd left. She wiped her tears on her sleeve and walked up to the stands to take her seat.

Callahan, who of course had been on the pitch fifteen minutes before everyone else, couldn't believe his luck when he saw who was sitting in the stands. Sylvie was on his turf now, and alone; he could just talk to her after the practice! For the first time in his life, he looked forward to a Quidditch event being over, and considered ending it a tad early.

Sylvie enjoyed watching the practice and reading her book on the crisp, sunny day. She'd always enjoyed watching Quidditch, but she was absolutely hopeless at playing it, as she had discovered over the summer when James and Sirius had tried to show her how to fly, which she had found mortifying and they had found hilarious. She was pained as she watched Sirius fly. He definitely faltered more than normal. She felt very guilty about coming to the practice, knowing that she wasn't making it easy for him, but she had no excuse to give to Vanessa, and she wasn't ready to tell her, wasn't sure if she'd ever be ready.

Before she knew it, the practice had ended. She got up from her seat in the stands and began to make her way down, eager to leave before she had to see Sirius again. When she reached the field, she was startled by Callahan, whom she'd hardly noticed during the practice. He had seemed to be waiting for her.

"Er—hi," she said.

She was even prettier in the dusky twilight, her cheeks flushed with the crisp air and her eyes lively. He cleared his throat, trying to remain composed. "Hello, Sylvie. May I speak with you for a moment?" he asked.

She was slightly taken aback. "Sure," she replied. They sat in the first row of the stands.

Sirius had just landed when he saw Knightley approach Sylvie. He watched them closely, wishing he could hear their conversation, while he walked back to the locker room with James.

"I played like shit," Sirius said heavily.

"Right there with you," James sighed. They looked at each other briefly, each knowing what the other was thinking, but said nothing. They weren't ready to talk about it yet.

He threw his Quidditch robes angrily into his locker and slammed it shut. Knightley still hadn't returned to the locker room yet. He wondered what Knightley was talking about with Sylvie. He shook his head as he waited for James. He didn't need to wonder, he knew. He'd never realized just how big of a git Knightley actually was. Wasn't Sylvie a little young for him? She was only fifteen. How old was Knightley? Seventeen? He felt his blood begin to boil.

Callahan immediately felt more at ease with Sylvie than he ever thought he would. She had such a sweet nature, it was impossible to be nervous. He took a deep breath. "I've been wanting to ask you out for a since we met in the library," he said.

Sylvie couldn't help but grin. Callahan was very handsome, especially in his Quidditch robes, even though he was a bit sweaty after the practice; it added to his appeal. James and Sirius had spoken highly of him when he was appointed captain in the beginning of the year, and, more importantly, Remus knew him from being a prefect and had not objected to him. He seemed a natural leader. He spoke very steadily and calmly.

"Would you like to come to Hogsmeade with me next weekend?" he asked.

Her grin widened. "I'd love to."

Finally, the stoic expression on his face broke and he grinned back. "Great. That's really great," he said, gripping her hand briefly, then, thinking himself audacious, pulled it back. She giggled. It was like music to his ears. She didn't think him a fool. He was extremely pleased.

They stood up and walked down the stands. Callahan stood aside to let her walk ahead of him down the stairs. They reached the locker room as soon as the rest of the team was leaving. Vanessa waved to her, looking happy.

Sylvie turned to Callahan. "Well, good night," she said, grinning again.

"Good night, Sylvie," he replied. He gripped her hand again, grinned once more, then headed into the locker room.

Sylvie grinned to herself as she walked towards Vanessa. Suddenly, she caught Sirius' eye and felt the grin slide off her face as quickly as it had came. The look on his face made her inside go stone cold. It was the coldest, meanest look she'd ever seen, mixed with a bit of betrayal and hurt that only the trained eye could see. Before she could speak to him, he turned on his heel and started walking very quickly back to the castle.


	4. Enlightenment in Hogsmeade

**Enlightenment in Hogsmeade**

"So, what was that all about?" Sylvie heard Vanessa's voice at her side and jumped.

"Callahan Knightley asked me to go to Hogsmeade next weekend," she said quietly. Why had Sirius had to look at her like that? Couldn't he just accept that it would never work out between them? She should have been much happier at a time like this, but she was far from it as she and Vanessa began to walk back to the castle. Vanessa forced Sylvie to tell her everything about her conversation with Callahan, and Sylvie did, even though she didn't want to.

Vanessa was surprised by the news, and was happy for Sylvie, but she sensed something off in her friend's forced demeanor. She had an inkling what it was, but she didn't bring it up, as she'd seen how hurt Sylvie was by Sirius' reaction to seeing Sylvie and Callahan together.

When they reached the common room, Sylvie told Vanessa that she was very tired and wanted to go lie down in their dormitory. She couldn't bear to look at Sirius again, so she made her way to the door without looking at anyone, even though she could feel his eyes glaring at her.

As soon as Sylvie had disappeared and Vanessa had seated herself in the area where James, Remus and Sirius were sitting, Sirius rounded on her.

"What did Knightley say to her?" he demanded.

Vanessa was taken aback. "Not that it's any of your business, but he asked her to go to Hogsmeade with him next weekend," she said waspishly. She had never really thought much of Sirius, given his arrogant and obnoxious ways, but was friendly to him for the sake of the Quidditch team and the fact that he was Sylvie's brother's best friend.

Sirius slammed his fist down on the table. James and Remus stopped their conversation immediately. "What's the matter, Sirius?" Remus asked.

"What's the matter?" Sirius said rather aggressively. "Knightley asked Sylvie out today, that's what's the matter!"

Remus furrowed his brow. "He's all right," he said, turning to James. "You think so, don't you?"

"Yeah—yeah, he's all right," James said nervously.

"He's too old for her!" Sirius exclaimed. "He's seventeen!"

"And she's fifteen, Padfoot. It's only two years," Remus said calmly.

"She's your sister! You're not at all unnerved by this?" Sirius cried.

Remus looked confused. "What am I going to do, tell her she can't go out with him just because I said so? That wouldn't be fair. She's a smart girl and he's…I don't know…_worthy _of her, I guess." Sirius felt his stomach drop. "And no offense, mate, but you're not really an authority where appropriate boys for my sister are concerned, if you know what I mean," he added, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly, as if something had just dawned on him.

He wanted to punch Remus in the face, but with great difficulty, he contained himself and made a frustrated noise and looked away, brooding about how Remus had basically just forbade him from going near Sylvie with anything other than friendly intentions.

"Sirius, can I have a word?" Vanessa said suddenly and sharply.

"Whatever," he said and followed her into a corner.

"Look, I don't know what happened between you and Sylvie this summer or recently or whenever," Vanessa said quietly. "But I saw the way she looked with Knightley, and she was _happy_."

Sirius glared at her. "You don't understand," he said.

"Maybe not, but, for some ungodly reason, she cares about you as a friend, she really does, and she was very hurt when you reacted the way you did. If you really care about her, you'll want her to be happy. Maybe think about that, and put someone else before yourself for once." She turned and disappeared up to the girls' dormitory.

Sirius returned to the table and said nothing for a long time as he listened to Remus and James and Peter converse. Time rolled on, and the number of people in the common room dwindled. After Remus and Peter had gone to bed, Sirius had watched James' eyes follow Lily Evans as she walked to the door of the girls' dormitory and went upstairs.

James sighed. "These girls, mate," he said sadly.

"Yeah," Sirius said sulkily. "Can you _believe _Knightley asked her out? The git!"

"I hate to break it to you, Padfoot, but she's not yours," James said. "And she won't be, seeing as Moony will probably kill you. I told you she was off limits."

Sirius made another frustrated noise. He was surprised at how well his best friend knew him. He thought about what Vanessa had told him about Sylvie being happy. _Well, that makes one of us, _he thought. But he knew she was right.

"Maybe—maybe we should just forget about them," Sirius said, the gears in his mind turning.

"What do you mean?" James asked curiously.

"Well, we're not exactly bad deals, are we?"

"No—no I guess not."

"I mean, we're on the Quidditch team for God's sake! We're Sirius Black and James Potter! Padfoot and Prongs!" Sirius said, somewhat madly. "Why are we wasting our time on girls who don't want us when there are so many who do?"

James raised his eyebrows. "I don't see where you're going with this. And it's not that she doesn't want me, she just hasn't come 'round yet!"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "We should be having fun, not sulking. I say we find a couple of girls to go to Hogsmeade with, and maybe even some firewhiskey," he said, that mad grin on his face again.

James thought for a moment, knowing that he definitely had no other girls in mind, but not wanting to admit this to his friend. "Hm, firewhiskey…Sounds like a plan. So to the Hog's Head to procure provisions?" James said, his mood visibly lifting.

"Yes, yes, but not until the Hogsmeade weekend. First, we need to get ourselves some girls," Sirius said hastily, scanning the remaining students in the common room. He spotted Holly Bridges studying at a table by herself in a corner. Sirius considered her. She was pretty enough, with brown hair and dark brown eyes. _Not nearly as pretty as Sylvie, though_, said a small voice in his mind. He shook his head. She was one of Sylvie's best friends. More gears turned in his head, though he hated to think that he was so immature. She'd do.

"I'm going to ask out Holly," Sirius said confidently.

"Sylvie's best friend?" James asked skeptically.

"Oh, is that what she is? I hadn't noticed," Sirius said in a falsely nonchalant tone.

James rolled his eyes. "That's audacious, that is, Padfoot."

"Audacious? You sound like Remus," Sirius snorted as he walked towards Holly.

When he reached her, he placed his hand over the book she was reading and pushed it down. "Hey, Holly," he said.

"Er—hey," she replied, looking confused.

"Fancy going with me to Hogsmeade this weekend?" he asked unabashedly, knowing she would say yes, as so many other girls had.

Holly blinked, surprised. He was very handsome, even in the dim light of the common room. She'd always thought Sirius had liked Sylvie. In fact, Sylvie and Vanessa were always upstaging her, Sylvie with her intelligence and good looks, Vanessa with her Quidditch skills. _But Sirius Black has asked me out_, she thought. _Now I've got something they haven't got._ "Sure, I'd love to!" she said, grinning.

"Great! I can't wait," he said, grinning back.

James still looked skeptical as he watched his friend return to their table. "How did it go?" he asked.

"She said yes, of course," Sirius said.

James sighed.

"What?" Sirius snapped.

"You know what," James said.

Sirius glared at nothing for a moment. "I'm going to bed," he said finally.

"Yeah, me too," said James.

And James trudged up after his arrogant friend, thinking, _He's just going to have to figure this one out for himself._

--

The Hogsmeade weekend was fast approaching. The day after Callahan had asked Sylvie out, Holly had told Sylvie and Vanessa that Sirius had asked her to go to Hogsmeade with him. Sylvie felt like she had been punched in the stomach, but kept up a normal appearance. _You rejected him_, she thought. _There's no reason for you to have any bad feelings about this. _She did, however, suspect that he had ulterior motives in asking out her best friend. Sirius Black may have been arrogant and hotheaded, but he was not stupid, and Sylvie didn't want to see her friend get hurt.

On her way to Potions with Vanessa and Holly, Sylvie passed Callahan. She grinned brightly at him and he came over to her.

"I thought we could meet in the common room around eleven to go to Hogsmeade this Saturday?" he asked.

"That sounds fantastic," Sylvie said, blushing slightly in front of her friends.

"Wonderful," Callahan said. "Well, I'll see you later, wouldn't want you to be late for class."

"Bye," she said. He grinned at her as he walked away. Sylvie decided that his smile was quite charming and blushed even more.

"He's such a gentleman!" Vanessa said. "You never told me the whole story about how he asked you out."

"Well, he just asked to talk to me, then he said that he'd wanted to ask me out for a while, then he—er—asked me out," Sylvie said simply.

"Aw!" squealed Holly. "That's how Sirius asked me out," she added excitedly.

Sylvie tried to hide the ugly look that sprang up at the mention of his name, but had the feeling that Vanessa, obviously the more perceptive of her two friends, had noticed something was amiss. She gave Sylvie a look and Sylvie shook her head ever so discreetly, warning Vanessa not to say anything. Vanessa sighed. It was Thursday.

Holly told anyone who would listen over the next few days that she and Sirius Black were going to Hogsmeade together. During one of Holly's particularly obnoxious outbursts on Friday night, Sylvie actually got up and moved across the common room, saying, "I can't concentrate with you prattling on," quite nastily, at least for her. Vanessa told Holly that Sylvie was just stressed out by the amount of work she had to do, and she followed Sylvie across the room.

"Okay, what happened between you and Sirius?" she asked unabashedly.

"Nothing," Sylvie said quietly, keeping her eyes on her book.

"You're lying to me, Sylvie Lupin, and you are the worst liar in the world, and you're insulting my intelligence. I'm your best friend, and I know something happened, so out with it," Vanessa demanded.

Sylvie sighed and finally told Vanessa about what had happened at the lake and again in the common room.

"So, you like him?" Vanessa said after listening.

"No! Vanessa! It would never work," Sylvie said exasperatedly.

"Yeah, well you can keep telling yourself that…" Sylvie glared daggers at her. "Ok, ok! I just hope he isn't going out with Holly just to make you jealous. She seems really happy."

"I know! I thought about that, too. But he can't possibly be so immature, can he?" Sylvie mused.

Vanessa shrugged. She didn't have the heart to tell Sylvie that yes, Sirius Black could be that immature.

"Well, I can't concentrate down here. I'm going upstairs. I'll see you later, Vanessa," Sylvie said, collecting her things.

"What's _wrong_ with her?" Holly asked acidly as Vanessa sat down at her table.

"I told you, she's got a lot of work to do and she can't concentrate with everyone talking," Vanessa said. Holly's obnoxious attitude was beginning to annoy her as well.

"Well, I think she's jealous of me," Holly said. "You know, since Sirius asked me out. I think she always thought that Sirius would ask her out, but he didn't. He asked me!"

"Holly! She's your best friend, she's not going to be jealous of you, she's happy for you! And why would she be jealous of you anyway? The Gryffindor Quidditch captain's asked her out!"

Holly glared at her. "Seems like someone else is jealous, too," she said tauntingly.

Vanessa glared. "You are completely insufferable. Whatever happens to you from this point on, I do not feel sorry for you. Don't come crying to me, or Sylvie, for that matter. She'll probably be too nice to ignore you, but I won't," she hissed angrily.

"What are you talking about, Vanessa?" Holly asked daftly.

"Ugh, you are so thick! Just remember what I said. Don't come crying to me!" Vanessa was so irritated that she almost considered also telling Holly that Sirius actually _had _asked Sylvie out, and that his probable ulterior motives had little to do with _her, _but everything to do with Sylvie. But, again, she found she didn't quite have the heart to break her friend's, even though the friend in question was a moron.

Sirius had noticed everything that had happened between Holly, Vanessa, and Sylvie. He hated himself for it, but he was sated by the fact that Sylvie had seemed so upset. He was just arrogant enough to believe that Sylvie wasn't only having trouble concentrating due to the noise. A terrible part of him felt that it was payback for how she had made him feel, but a slightly more honorable part felt a tiny glimmer of hope.

The next morning, Sylvie met Callahan in the common room at eleven sharp. He had evidently been waiting. She smiled her pretty smile at him and they were off.

They took the usual student route around Hogsmeade, visited the stores, taken a walk up the main street, and so on. Along the way, he'd told her he wanted to go into training to be an Auror when he graduated Hogwarts, and his hopes for being Head Boy next year, although he still managed to sound modest. She liked him more and more as the day wore on. She couldn't stop her mind occasionally wandering to what Holly and Sirius were doing, but she was having such a nice time with Callahan that she had little trouble snapping it back.

One of Sylvie's favorite stores was Honeyduke's. She loved the way the tiny store smelled and always felt warm and cozy and content within it.

"Oh, I love these!" she exclaimed, picking up a Sugar Quill from a rack on the wall as Callahan, who was standing next to her, examining the Toothflossing Stringmints, glanced over. She beamed up at him, her cheeks flushed from the chilly air outside. She looked so happy and pretty that he couldn't help but smile himself.

"They're great, aren't they?" he said, looking down at her.

It was then that Sylvie realized just how much taller Callahan was than her. She suddenly felt very content and secure, standing in the cramped little shop with him smiling warmly at her.

"Well, I think I'll just get this then," she said softly, looking down at the Sugar Quill she was holding and breaking their gaze. He let her walk in front of him to the register and stood on line.

To Sylvie's horror, she saw Sirius and Holly walk in, followed by James, Peter. Where was Remus?

When Holly spotted Sylvie, she waved enthusiastically and began to walk over. Sylvie wished she'd thought to hide behind Callahan's hulking form, but it was too late.

"Hi, Sylvie! How are you?" Holly said brightly.

"I'm—er—fine, Holly. Having a nice day?" she replied, glancing briefly at Sirius, who looked at her with a fleeting haughty look, then looked away.

"Oh, yes! We've been having so much fun!" she said, perhaps too loudly, leaning closer to Sirius, who was clearly uncomfortable, despite the front he was upholding.

"That's wonderful," Sylvie said, smiling politely. Callahan had turned around and grinned.

"Alright, Black, Potter?" he said amiably.

James, who was devoid of a girl and looked thoroughly annoyed by the whole situation, managed to reply with a weak "Yeah." Sirius, however, narrowed his eyes and scowled.

"Yes, Knightley, I am. And how about you? Having fun?" he said acidly.

"Er—yeah, we are," he said, glancing down at Sylvie, who looked very uncomfortable and hadn't said a word to Black.

"Well, good then," Sirius said again, glancing at Sylvie, who knew what was coming and wished she could disappear. She could tell when Sirius was calculating. "It's a shame you couldn't find someone your own age though, isn't it?"

There was a thick silence for a moment. Sylvie looked up at Callahan, terrified. She thought she saw his eyes darken with anger, but in a moment they were back to normal and he looked perfectly calm again.

"What is it that you're getting at, Black?" Callahan said in a tone that could be described as cold, but had an undertone of threat. He didn't take his eyes off of Sirius. They were almost the same height, Sirius being an inch or two shorter, but Callahan was much more burly than Sirius.

"Nothing at all, Knightley, I just don't see why you, being Quidditch Captain and all, couldn't find someone closer to your own age to escort around Hogsmeade," Sirius said in a falsely nonchalant voice. "Although, I guess if it's naiveté you're after…"

Callahan took a step closer to Sirius just as James said, "Padfoot, mate…" urgently from behind. Suddenly, a voice from behind Sylvie called, "Next!"

Sylvie turned to see that it was their turn at the counter. She glanced nervously from Sirius to Callahan. "Come on, Callahan," she said urgently, tugging at his arm.

He relented as soon as he felt her touch him. After one last glare at Black, he turned and walked to the counter with Sylvie. He could tell she was upset by what Black had said, and it angered him. He maintained his composure in front of her, though, and placed a large hand on her back, feeling her relax slightly. She placed her Sugar Quill on the counter.

"Will that be all, dear?" the saleslady asked.

"Yes, thanks," Sylvie said, rummaging through her moneybag.

"I'll get it," Callahan said softly, leaning over her and dropping coins onto the counter.

Sylvie looked up, surprised. "No, really, you don't have to!" she said quickly.

"It's fine, Sylvie," he said, smiling down at her as the saleslady handed him his change and the bag, which he handed to Sylvie.

"Thanks so much," she said softly, taking the bag gingerly from him, blushing furiously. Callahan didn't think he'd ever seen anything more adorable.

Sylvie, touched by Callahan's gift, noticed with relief that Sirius and Holly had left the store and were nowhere to be seen.

--

After spending another hour or two browsing the shops, they decided to stop in to the Three Broomsticks for butterbeers before heading back to the school.

"I'd suggest Madam Puddifoot's, but I was forced into going there last year and it was horrific," Callahan mused as he sat down with two butterbeers.

"Thank you," said Sylvie as he handed one to her. She looked at him across the table. "I can't imagine anyone forcing you to do anything," she said, smirking.

Callahan looked at her and fought the urge to kiss her right then and there. He resisted, and replied; "Well, it was more of a favor for a friend than anything else. A mate of mine asked a girl out for Valentine's Day, and the girl's friend didn't have a date, so the girl asked my friend if he knew anyone who was available, and, well, there you go," he said, leaning back leisurely in his chair. He felt surprisingly comfortable around her, as if he'd known her for much longer than a few weeks. She was very easy to talk to.

"That was really sweet of you. The girl's friend was probably really happy," Sylvie said, impressed by his kindness.

"She was very—er—talkative," he said sheepishly. "To say the least."

Sylvie giggled. Callahan was very pleased with himself. Something bothered him, however, when he thought back to the confrontation in Honeyduke's. It had been quite uncalled-for, as Callahan had never had any problems with Black before, and had never thought badly about Black, except that he was very obnoxious sometimes.

"So, if you don't mind me asking," he said carefully, "what do you think all that with Black earlier was about?"

Sylvie sighed. "He gets a bit uppity sometimes, doesn't he?"

"Yes, yes he does." Callahan considered her from across the table. "I've never seen him quite so worked up off the Quidditch field, though."

"He's, well, excitable. And protective, I guess."

"It seems to me like it's a little more than that," Callahan said quietly.

Sylvie surveyed him. She might as well tell him now. "Well, he did—er—ask me out a few weeks ago. I said no, of course, for a multitude of reasons, but he didn't take it well. I don't think he's very used to being rejected."

Callahan was relieved. "I thought it was something like that."

"He kissed me, too," she blurted out, blushing again. "Which was very uncalled-for."

"He kissed you? Just out of the blue?" said Callahan, slightly taken aback at Black's brazenness.

"Well, yes," Sylvie said softly. "You can see why I said no, besides the fact that he's my brother's best friend."

"Yes, I can," said Callahan, still staring at her, realizing that she had consciously picked him over Sirius Black. He suddenly felt extremely grateful to be with her.

The tension lessened in Sylvie's face and she looked radiant once more. "It's really a shame though, because he's not a bad person. He's actually a very good person when he's not being so arrogant. We used to be such good friends. I miss that," she said.

Callahan nodded slowly. "It can be hard sometimes. He'll probably come around though. You're so sweet, how can he be cross with you forever?" he said in his deep voice, looking at her and meaning every word he said. "I couldn't be cross with you for five minutes, if even."

She beamed at him. "Thanks for being so understanding, it really means a lot" she said, a warm feeling spreading through her that only had little to do with the butterbeer.


	5. Envy is Poisonous

**"Envy is Poisonous"**

When Sirius, Holly, James, and Peter arrived back at the common room, they had finished the entire contents of a bottle of firewhiskey. James had hoped that Sirius' mood would improve with the firewhiskey, but if anything, he had become more aggressive and vengeful about the confrontation in Honeyduke's earlier that day. James only hoped that neither Sylvie nor Knightley were there.

He only got half his wish. As soon as they had arrived back, Callahan was called away on prefect business and had to leave immediately. Sylvie spotted Vanessa and went to sit with her.

"Hi, Vanessa."

Vanessa looked up from her book. "Oh, hi, Sylvie!" she said, uncharacteristically brightly.

"Where were you today? I didn't see you at all in Hogsmeade," Sylvie asked nonchalantly.

"Oh, I was…around," Vanessa replied evasively. Sylvie thought her attitude strange. "Did you really expect me to hang around with Holly all day, with the way she's been acting?"

"No, I suppose not," Sylvie said, still looking at Vanessa curiously.

"So, how did your day with Callahan go?"

"It was lovely. He's very sweet. He bought me a Sugar Quill," Sylvie said, blushing slightly.

"Aw! That was nice of him. So no run-ins with Sirius, then?" Vanessa asked.

"Oh, no, of course there was a run-in," Sylvie said with an edge of sarcasm. "In Honeyduke's. I've never been so embarrassed," she added, still angered and upset by the thought of it.

"What happened?"

"We were on line, and Sirius, Holly, James, and Peter came in. Everything was fine before Sirius opened his mouth. He said some rubbish about me being too young, and made it like he was accusing Callahan about wanting someone naïve, or something like that. Callahan was very offended, and it could have gotten worse, but then our turn came in line, and James and I kind of diffused the situation," she said, shaking her head slowly. "It's all so unnecessary."

"I know. Sirius can be such a prat sometimes," Vanessa mused.

Sylvie sighed. "He's such a good person! Why can't he grow up? I just want to be his friend again," she said sadly. She felt as though she'd been saying that a lot lately.

Just then, Remus came and sat down at their table.

"Remus!" said Sylvie. "I haven't seen you all day, either! Where were you?"

Remus glanced at Vanessa very briefly, then opened his mouth to speak just as Sirius, Holly, James, and Peter came boisterously through the portrait hole.

Holly was having trouble even standing up, never having drank firewhiskey before. Sirius, though, took no notice, as he zeroed in almost instantly on Sylvie.

As soon as she saw him, Sylvie knew nothing good was going to happen. He was clearly drunk, which could only fuel his ill feelings. She braced herself as he walked over, followed somewhat unsteadily and tremulously by James (who was half-supporting Holly) and Peter.

"So, Sylvie," Sirius said, swaying slightly. "Had a nice day, I suppose?"

Sylvie looked at him with a cold expression, not approving of his behavior at all, and determined not to show her fear or sadness.

"Giving me the cold shoulder then? Well, wouldn't be the first time," he slurred, the volume of his voice rising slightly. Surrounding people turned to watch the scene unfolding.

James stepped forward, still trying to make sure Holly didn't fall over. "Come on, Padfoot, I think we should—"

"I don't give a damn what you think right now, Prongs!" Sirius snapped, making everyone in the vicinity jump. The room had gone quiet now; everyone was watching the exchange going on.

"Sylvie, Sylvie, Sylvie, do you think no one can see what you're doing?" Sirius said, staring at her.

She said nothing, determined not to dignify his behavior with a response.

"He's a prefect, Sylvie!" he said, swaying again. "And the _Quidditch captain!_ And he's seventeen! You know, I never had you pegged as a status seeker, but now…" Sylvie's stomach dropped and she flushed.

"That's enough, Sirius!" said Remus, standing suddenly. He had been growing steadily angrier with Sirius' treatment of his sister, and could stand it no longer. "You should get your drunken arse to bed before you make even more of a fool of yourself," he said through gritted teeth.

Sirius rounded on Remus. "You would say that, _Moony. _She's your _baby sister_ after all, isn't she? No one's good enough for her, except for _Knightley! _Doesn't anyone see the error in that? He's too bloody _old _for her! And, of course," he added with a derogatory snort, bitterness and anger coursing through him, his inhibitions loosened greatly by the drink. "I, your _best friend_, am not allowed _near _her without everyone jumping down my throat! No, Sirius Black would never, _ever_, be good enough for your precious baby sister! How much of a baby is she, Remus? She barely knows Knightley, and yet she positively _jumps _at the chance to be seen with him. Maybe you should keep a closer eye on her, Remus, if you cared so much. Then you'd know that I snogged her."

Sylvie flushed even more furiously, determined not to look at Remus. She could only imagine the look on his face right now.

"Of course, she never told you. And I never did either. _God forbid _we anger Remus! Let me stew in my own mind, but never upset Remus. And God only knows what she and Knightley will get up to. If she'd snog me—_twice—_and she claims she doesn't even like me, and if she was so quick just to go out with him, she'll probably jump at other chances easily, too." As soon as the words escaped his mouth, Sirius had the distinct feeling that he would regret what he'd said tomorrow, regardless of his current rage.

Sylvie gave an involuntary sob as Remus stood to face Sirius. She had never seen her brother so angry. She was devastated at what Sirius had said, and for the second time that day, she wished she were invisible.

At that moment, Holly gave a great retch and doubled over, vomiting. Sylvie and Vanessa jumped up to help their friend. They each took an arm and led Holly up the stairs to the girls' dormitory. Sylvie was glad for both the excuse to leave the situation in the common room and to have an opportunity to hide her tears.

Once the girls were gone, Remus turned to Sirius. "I knew it," he growled. "I knew you were after her. And you wonder why I don't want her with someone like you, Sirius, after the way you acted tonight?" Remus glared uncharacteristically viciously. "Well, _now_, if I ever see you giving her trouble again, I'll hex you into oblivion." With that, Remus turned on his heel and disappeared up to the boys' dormitory.

Once Sylvie and Vanessa had allowed Holly to finish vomiting in the bathroom, then put her safely in bed, where she had passed out almost instantly, Vanessa turned expectantly to Holly and opened her mouth to speak.

"Don't," Sylvie said in a choked voice. She flung herself onto her bed and began to sob. Vanessa sat down next to her and stroked Sylvie's hair.

"I won't," she said quietly. She was so angry with Sirius that she could barely see, but she didn't want to show it in front of Sylvie, who was upset enough already.

"I c-c-can't believe he'd s-say things like that! I n-n-never…" Sylvie trailed off into more sobs.

"I know, Sylvie. He's complete scum," Vanessa said soothingly.

Sylvie sobbed even harder and said nothing more, wanting to believe anything but what Vanessa had just said.

After sitting and brooding drunkenly for a few minutes, not listening to the broken reprimands from James, Sirius decided that it was time to go to bed. He didn't care at the moment about Remus, and half-wished Remus would just ignore him. He got his wish, as the hangings on Remus' bed were closed tight and no sound was coming from inside them. Sirius fell on his bed and passed out without bothering to change his clothes.

Callahan walked into the common room a few minutes after the boys' had gone to bed. He was disappointed to see that Sylvie was gone. He had been looking forward to saying good night to her. Langley, the Keeper and his fellow sixth year, approached him.

"You will never believe what just happened, mate…"

Langley told him the entire story, and Callahan grew more angry with every minute he listened, thoughts of what he would do to Sirius flying around in his head.

--

The Quidditch match was quickly approaching. Sylvie, Remus, and Vanessa had all been steadily ignoring Sirius. He had only remembered a brief outline of what he'd said, and once James had told him the extent of it he was thoroughly depressed.

He was too ashamed even to approach Remus, knowing that he had mightily failed his friend. Even if he had wanted to approach him, however, Remus wouldn't even look at Sirius, let alone let him get close enough to have any kind of conversation.

Sirius wasn't much less afraid to approach Sylvie, even though he thought she might be more understanding than Remus. He yearned to apologize, to try to justify his actions in some way, but every time he was close to her, he was lost for words. Every once in a while, she would give him a sad glance, her doe-eyes filled with disappointment. This was somehow worse than Remus' full on cold-shouldering.

One day, an opportunity presented itself. He and Sylvie were alone in a corridor, he, of course, many paces behind her. An idea struck him. If he could cause a reason for Sylvie to stop, then she would have to talk to him. He could rip her bag! Then, he could help her clean up the mess.

But just as he held out his wand and muttered a spell, Sylvie turned around as fast as lightning and said, "_Protego!_"

Sirius ducked just in time to avoid his spell, which had bounced off of Sylvie's excellent Shield Charm.

"What, Sirius?" she said coldly.

"How—how did you…?"

"Please," she said quietly. "You think we can be within five feet of each other without noticing it? I sensed it."

Neither of them spoke for a few moments.

"What do you want?" Sylvie said in a tone that was almost pleading.

"I—I—just wanted to say…"

"That you're sorry? That you feel terrible? Well, you should, Sirius! I have no sympathy for you."

"You're right," he said quietly.

"You made a big mistake, and now you have to live with it. You _must_ see now that envy is poisonous," she said, turning away.

Almost unconsciously, Sirius said, "Silvery…" in a quiet voice.

She turned back, a shocked look on her face, forced to relive the time Sirius had given her the nickname.

It was during their third year, the day after Christmas break. She had just entered the common room, and Sirius had come bounding up to hug her. She'd laughed at his enthusiasm, as she always had.

"I've got a present for you," he said once he'd let go.

"But you already gave me a present, I got it on Christmas," Sylvie said skeptically.

"I know, but I saw this and thought of you," he said, beaming and leading her to a couch. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small wrapped box and handed it to her.

Sylvie unwrapped it slowly. It was a velvet box, and when she opened it, she saw a simple silver chain with a pendant shaped like a bursting star. It was made of solid, gleaming silver and was truly the most beautiful necklace she'd ever seen.

"Sirius!" she said, beaming. "It's amazing!" His heart leapt when she hugged him.

"It was all silvery, and silvery sounds like 'Sylvie,'" he explained happily. "Hey! I think that's what I'll call you now. Silvery!"

Sylvie laughed. "It's silly," she said, but she secretly loved it.

"I know, but I like it." He got up to go over to James. "See you later, Silvery," he said, grinning.

Sylvie snapped back to reality. "Don't even, Sirius. It won't work." Without another word, she turned and walked away, doing her best to conceal her tears from him.

Sirius looked completely downcast as she walked away. She hoped the sadness in her voice hadn't given her away.

He didn't try to stop her. He knew he deserved this treatment. What he wouldn't have given for just a friendship with Sylvie now that he had destroyed even that possibility.

To make matters worse, Knightley, too, had been cold with him, only speaking to him to give orders concerning the match. It was quite awkward to play Chaser when neither of the other two Chasers were on speaking terms with him.

He managed, however, to get through a few practices well enough before the match on Saturday. If he had nothing else, he had Quidditch.

--

The night before the match, Callahan and Vanessa had gone to bed early, as had the rest of the team, on Callahan's orders. This left Remus and Sylvie alone at a table. Remus was not ignoring her as he was Sirius, but he was not as warm as he usually was.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Sylvie broke. "Are you mad at me?" she asked in a voice that sounded somewhat childish.

Remus surveyed her face. She was so child-like, still, even with her air of precocity. A part of his heart knew that whatever she did, he could never be angry with her for more than a few minutes. Sirius, though, was another story entirely.

"No, Sylvie, of course I'm not, I'm just—"

"Disappointed?" she ventured.

"In a way," he said thoughtfully. "Why didn't you tell me about you and Sirius?"

Sylvie sighed. "Because I thought you'd react badly and get upset, and I didn't plan on it happening again." She looked down at her lap, where her cat Pepper sat purring. She scratched behind his ears absentmindedly.

"Well, you were right, I was upset. Sirius is—was—oh, I don't know—my best mate, but of all the people you had to snog…"

"_He_ snogged _me_, Remus. What was I supposed to do?" Sylvie said indignantly.

Remus didn't speak for some time. "I should have seen it. The way he acted around you, how he's _always _acted around you, how angry he was when he found out about you and Callahan. Actually, then, I did know, I just didn't want to believe it. I wanted to think it was a brotherly loving and protective attitude he had."

"Well, as you now know, as everyone now knows, I rejected him," Sylvie said sadly. "And he took it very badly."

Remus nodded. "There's no justifying what he did, you know. I know your tendency to try to smooth things over, but you can't possibly just write this off."

"No, of course I can't. I wouldn't have expected him to be _that _out of line in a million years," she said, feeling a lump in her throat.

Remus looked at her closely. At that moment, he knew she was trying not to cry, and that she liked Sirius, perhaps just as much as Sirius liked her. It was in Sylvie's nature to try to please others, and Remus realized that Sylvie had rejected Sirius partly because she knew it would anger Remus if anything happened between them. He suddenly felt a rush of affection for his sister.

"But, these things work themselves out," Sylvie said quietly. "You must know that, Remus, look how things ended up for you."

He knew she was referring to his being a werewolf. He remembered how scared he'd been to come to the school, and how encouraging Sylvie had been. She'd said exactly the same thing to him the night before he left, when she'd snuck into his room after her bedtime to make sure he was alright.

"I know you're scared, Remus," she'd said. "But things work themselves out. You're really nice and people won't be able to help but like you, and they'll understand about…you know. They won't be like the people here, they can't be." She hugged him. "And if no one likes you, then I'll be there next year, and I'm obligated to like you, so there's really nothing to worry about," she added with a smile. Remus couldn't help but laugh and hug his sister again, somehow feeling more at ease, knowing that she was probably right, as she usually was.

"Thanks, Sylvie," he said. "Now go to bed. We have to get up early tomorrow."

Sylvie rolled her eyes. "Fine, Remus," she said, playfully slapping his arm before leaving his room. "And by the way," she said quietly on her way out, "if Mum asks you about her porcelain vase, the one with vines on it, Pepper and I definitely _didn't_ knock it over while we were playing."

Remus smirked and nodded his head.

And sure enough, the next day, he'd met James Potter, Sirius Black, and Peter Pettigrew. For the first time in his life, he'd felt accepted and had great, loyal friends, friends who would eventually risk so much in order to become Animagi to make his transformations more tolerable. He'd almost grown to look forward to the full moon.

Again, Remus, looking at his sister's kind face, and although none of his anger towards Sirius had abated in the least, he took Sylvie's word for it that everything would be alright.

--

The morning of the match, Sylvie sat with Callahan to eat breakfast. On any other day of the past week, she would have had to endure the mutterings of the other Gryffindors, as well as any other students of other houses who had been told about what happened in the common room. Today, however, all anyone seemed able to talk about was the first Quidditch match of the season. People passing the table seemed to ignore her completely, while they either encouraged or jeered Callahan and the other members of the Quidditch team.

Callahan took it all in stride, as he was used to it after so many years on the team. He felt confident about the match, and he was also glad that Black had been keeping in line.

The members from the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff teams got up to leave about ten minutes before breakfast was over and headed down to the pitch. Sylvie, as well as a handful of other early students, went with them. Callahan held her hand on the way down to the pitch, but they said nothing. When they reached to locker room, Callahan stalled for a minute as the other players filed in.

"Nice conditions today," Sylvie said, grinning at Callahan.

"Yes, it should be a great match," he said.

"Well…good luck," Sylvie said, standing on her tiptoes with her hands on his shoulders to kiss him on the cheek. At the last moment, Callahan rested his hands lightly on her waist and turned his head so that their lips met for a fleeting moment.

When they broke apart, Sylvie was blushing furiously. "Thanks," Callahan said, brushing a stray hair away from her face before turning and striding into the locker room with a spring in his step, feeling even more confident.

Sylvie looked around, still blushing, and found Holly walking towards her. Holly wasn't pleased with Sirius, either, as she blamed him for letting her get so drunk. She had been very sick the next day and had not forgotten the unpleasant experience. The girls walked together up to the stands to get seats.

Sirius had seen everything. He felt, if possible, worse than he'd been feeling lately when he saw Knightley kiss Sylvie, and the scene had instilled a fresh rage within him. It was as if that kiss had cemented all the dreaded repercussions of his tirade in the common room a week ago.

Vanessa and Knightley did not show their anger with him on the pitch during the match, as they passed to him as they normally would. They understood that their emotions would not help win the match, and Sirius was a good Chaser. About an hour in, they had each scored several goals fairly easily, which brought Sirius' mood up slightly. It was about this time that he hoped James would catch the Snitch soon to secure the Gryffindor win. Suddenly, he saw one of the Hufflepuff Chasers drop the Quaffle. Instinctively, Sirius flew towards the red ball, unaware that Knightley was also headed towards it. Before either boy could reach it, the collided in midair. Both were decent fliers, so neither was really shaken by the incident.

"Watch it, Black!" snapped Callahan.

"You watch it, Knightley! I was going for it!" Sirius snapped right back.

Callahan's eyes narrowed. "You should watch it in other senses, as well. I don't appreciate the way you spoke to my girlfriend."

Sirius felt a new swell of rage within him. "Oh, is that what she is now?"

Neither of them noticed that a whistle had been blown. James had caught the Snitch, winning the match for Gryffindor. The referee's attention, as well as the rest of the team's, was on James, who had caught a Bludger in the small of his back just after he caught the tiny golden ball.

"Yeah, she is, and she doesn't want you, so leave her alone," Callahan said threateningly.

"And what if I don't, Knightley? What are you going to do to me?" Sirius said viciously.

"Don't test me, Black. I'm not in the mood. In case you haven't noticed, I've got a very pretty girl to snog now, and she doesn't push _me _away."

Without realizing in, Callahan had struck the wrong nerve in Sirius, who flew at him the second after Callahan had finished talking. Callahan, however was ready. Sirius shoved him roughly, knocking him off balance for a few seconds. When he had regained it, Callahan, forgoing his wand, drew back his large fist and punched Sirius hard in the face. Blood immediately began to flow from his nose. A stray Bludger, hit at no one in particular by a Beater from the losing Hufflepuff team, flew by just at that moment. Callahan had to swerve to avoid it, but Sirius, gravely unbalanced and dizzy from the hard blow to his face, was incapable of swerving. The Bludger hit him right in the chest, knocking him clean off his broom.

Sylvie must have been the only person watching the scene from the stands, as everyone else was tensely watching to find out if the Seeker would be alright. Her stomach dropped in horror as she watched Sirius fall down, down, down to the ground. She ran quickly down the stands to the pitch before anyone else had really noticed what was going on, dreading what she was about to see. She prayed that what had looked like Callahan punching Sirius had been a trick of the light, but as she approached Sirius on the ground, around whom there was a growing crowd, she saw that he was lying in a heap, his left arm and right leg sticking out at odd angles, face bloodied and his nose clearly broken. She put her hand to her mouth in horror and choked back tears and looked from Sirius to Callahan, who had just landed, and back to Sirius.

Sirius' eyes fluttered open. The pain he was in redefined pain. He was unable to move. The light from the sky nearly blinded him. He glanced around above him and right away he noticed a blurred version of Sylvie's anguished face. Unable to stand it any longer, he passed out.


	6. Sylvie's Wishes and White Lies

**AN: I'm kind of worried about the lack of reviews for this story. Does anyone really like it, besides the three people who have reviewed? Please let me know and REVIEW! This is a short chapter, but a turning point of sorts for Sylvie and Sirius' relationship.**

--

**Sylvie's Wishes and White Lies**

Sirius didn't fully wake up for several hours after his fall. He remembered streams of consciousness in which he saw members of the Quidditch team, Madam Pomfrey, and, most importantly, Sylvie hovering over him. He couldn't bring himself to say anything, however, and he always slipped back out of consciousness.

Sylvie was completely beside herself while Sirius was incapacitated. She refused to leave his bedside, even at the protests of Vanessa, Remus, and Callahan. Callahan had been especially persistent in trying to sway her.

"Come on, Sylvie, don't you remember what he said to you?" he'd asked a little while after Sirius had been brought back to the hospital wing, after the rest of the Quidditch team had left.

"No, Cal, I want to stay!" Sylvie cried. "And I saw what you did up there," she continued in a low voice. "Maybe no one else did, but I saw it. What were you thinking, punching him when you were both 20 feet up in the air?"

Callahan didn't flinch. "I lost control. He infuriated me," he said, then paused. "Madam Pomfrey said he was going to be fine. He's mending and bandaged and he'll be back to normal in a few days," he said defensively. "You can't tell me he didn't deserve it."

"Yes, I can! He was really drunk, Callahan, he wasn't himself!" she said desperately. "I don't know what I would have done if—if—and we weren't speaking…" she trailed off and placed her knuckles to her lips, looking sadly at Sirius' unconscious form as tears prickled behind her eyes. She took a deep breath and kept them at bay.

Callahan sighed. He could see he wasn't going to make any headway and was amazed by the stubbornness of such a seemingly refined girl. "You'll miss dinner," he said quietly.

Sylvie turned to him. "Oh, Cal," she said, throwing her arms around his neck in a hug. "I don't like him that way. If I did, I'd be going out with him, not you." She kissed his cheek, trying to choke back the nagging guilt of her white lie.

He tightened his grip on her the tiniest bit and kissed the top of her head. "I know, Sylvie," he said. He wasn't entirely convinced, but he trusted Sylvie's judgment and certainly liked her, maybe even loved her, enough to let her have her wishes.

They broke apart. "I'll see you in the common room later tonight. I'm not very hungry right now," Sylvie said quietly.

--

When Sirius finally woke, he felt very stiff and his head hurt a tiny bit. The room was filled with a dusky, dim light. He groaned softly.

"Sirius?"

He heard a small, familiar voice to his right. He turned his head with some difficulty to look at Sylvie, who looked anguished and concerned.

"Hi," he said.

Sylvie began to cry silently. "I was w-wondering whether you would wake up before Madam Pomfrey made me leave," she said.

"How long have I been here?" he asked.

"A few hours," Sylvie replied.

"And you've been here all this time?"

"Y-yes," she said quietly, still crying.

Sirius exhaled. He was touched by Sylvie's staying with him after all he'd done.

She couldn't stand the silence. "You're l-left arm and right leg were broken, and your left shoulder was d-dislocated, and your left c-collarbone was also broken, and you b-broke your back in a few p-places. And—and you had a really s-serious c-c-…" Sylvie broke into open sobs at the thought of all these injuries. "Concussion!" she sobbed out the word, covering her face with her hands.

Sirius didn't like to see her cry over him and couldn't help but be amazed that she even cared about him at all. He realized then how incontrovertibly good she actually was, and that he couldn't be angry with her anymore. He truly did want her to be happy, and if she was happy with Knightley, then so be it. Of course, he still wanted her with all of his heart, but they still had time. After all, Callahan would be graduating a year sooner than he would. If Sirius had to wait that long, then that was exactly what he would do.

"Sylvie…" he said feebly, reaching out and touching her arm. She looked up, her face blotchy. "Stop crying. Come on, I'm all fixed up, aren't I? I'm just a bit stiff. How long did Madam Pomfrey say I'd have to stay?" he asked.

"Maybe a day or two. Until she says you're fit," Sylvie replied softly, he tears abating.

"Fantastic. What kind of concussion did you say I had?" he asked, an impish grin spreading across him repaired face.

"A—a serious one?" Sylvie said, confused. Then, she got it. "That's not funny at all, _Sirius_ Black. You could have been killed, you know," she said sternly, but she couldn't hide a hint of a smile.

"And then where would everyone be?" he said sarcastically. "I know for a fact that about four people are after my blood right now. Holly doesn't scare me much, but Vanessa's pretty scrappy," he said, grinning. "And I think Knightley made it perfectly clear how he feels about me today," he said. He didn't mention the fourth person; it hurt him too much just yet.

Sylvie opened her mouth to speak, but Sirius interrupted her. "Don't make excuses for him, Sylvie, I deserved it."

"No, you didn't!" she said.

"Yes, I did. I should never have spoken to you that way," he said earnestly. "I am so sorry, Sylvie."

She surveyed him. "I know you are. And I know you didn't mean any of it."

He looked at her, his heart full to bursting with affection for her. "And I want to tell you," he said, pausing briefly to gather his courage to say what he was planning to say, even though it hurt him immensely. "Any bloke who attempts murder just because his girlfriend's been insulted is very…worthy of you. If it's got to be someone, it may as well be Knightley."

Sylvie began to cry again. She grasped his hand. She knew how hard it must have been for him to say that. "Oh, Sirius…" she said. She wanted to hug him, but she feared it would hurt him, so she leaned down and kissed his forehead.

Her dark blonde hair fell across his face in a curtain and he caught a strong whiff of roses and something more distinct. One of her tears fell on his cheek. At that moment, his heart screamed, _"I take it back! Be with me! He doesn't love you like I love you, he never could! I want you for myself! Tell me you feel the same!" _His head, however, kept him quiet.

"As far as Remus is concerned…" he said, wanting to change the subject.

"He'll come around," she said. "He's very upset right now, obviously, and he has reason, but time heals all. Just give him time."

Sirius looked doubtful.

"I'll talk to him," she added knowingly.

Sirius sighed, looking up at her pretty face. She was so perfect, and so good. He felt a strong rush of affection for her unlike ever before. Her eyes danced with reflected light from the torches mounted on the walls. It almost hurt to look at her. He suddenly felt guilty that she was even there with him.

"I don't mean to kick you out, obviously I'd have you stay for as long as you possibly could, but I think you've done enough for me today. You must have homework to do, or something," he said.

She nodded. "Yes, I do. I just wanted to wait until you woke up and I got to talk to you. I'm glad you're alright."

"Me too," he said. "Now get going. I have a Sirius Black concussion to rest," he said, grinning again.

She let out a small laugh. "Oh, all right. You rest that."

She gripped his uninjured hand before she turned to leave. He hoped she couldn't see the goosebumps it gave him. "Thanks, Sylvie," he said softly.

She smiled warmly before she let go and left the wing. He felt a pang of regret at letting her go, as he would have had her sit with him for the rest of the night, just to have her close to him. But he knew he had done the right thing, and he knew that she'd been right when she said that time would heal all. He would just have to be patient. He knew, deep down, though, that patience was something that was as unnatural to him as domestication was to a dragon.

On the way back to the common room, Sylvie relinquished the brave face she put on for Sirius' sake. She had to stop in a deserted corridor and lean against a wall to collect herself. She knew then that she loved him. He had been so wonderful! She'd half-expected him to say that he blamed her for what happened, but he hadn't. He'd given her and Callahan his blessing! She wondered if he still loved her, then ran her hands through her hair and shook her head. There was too much to think about, what with Remus and Callahan and the other people who currently hated Sirius. What a mess!

She did, however, like Callahan very much, and did not want to do anything that would hurt him. She knew he was good for her, in a convenient way. He was certainly very kind and intelligent and ambitious. The fact that he had punched Sirius irked her, though, and she would not forget about it anytime soon.

She sighed. She would have to take this one day at a time, because she knew if she acted rashly, she would only end up hurting someone, and if she tried to think too far into the future, it would surely drive her mad.

--

Sirius was released from the hospital wing two days later. Many people were surprised that Sylvie was even speaking to him, let alone friendly with him, especially Remus and Vanessa.

"How could you forgive him so quickly?" Remus asked her one day in the common room. He and Sylvie were sitting at a table together.

"Did you see the state he was in after he fell? He could have died, Remus, and we never would have made amends, and then where would we be?" she said simply.

"But, he's fine now," Vanessa said.

"I know he is, _now, _but him getting injured made me think that there are more important things in life than holding grudges against a good friend for a drunken ranting. Some of it was horrible, yes, but some of it was just him telling the truth. At least he was being honest about how he felt." She faltered, but only for a moment. "And besides, he and I have talked about that, and he's really calmed down about it."

Remus and Vanessa glanced at each other, then both stared at Sylvie with identical looks of incredulity.

"It's funny what getting knocked off of a broomstick from twenty feet in the air can do for one's perspective," she said, grinning oddly, with a hint of sadness.

"I guess," Remus said, looking still more incredulous and bewildered.

"You two should really talk to him, you know," she ventured.

"Sylvie!" Remus groaned.

"Well, if I have no problem being friends with him again, you shouldn't either," she said earnestly. "I was the one he insulted, after all."

"I never liked him much to begin with, I just put up with him because I thought you liked him…" she trailed off when she caught Remus' eye, knowing that she had said too much.

"Like I said," Sylvie said quickly, before Remus could speak. "We've sorted it out. I'm going out with Callahan now." Despite the soundness of the statement, Sylvie felt anything but sound inside.

"Remus," she said softly, looking into her brother's eyes, which were the same color as hers. "Please talk to him again. I can tell he's sick over this whole mess. You can't carry on not speaking forever. He's your best friend." There was a hint of pleading in her voice.

Remus sighed and didn't speak for some time. Sylvie could tell he was thinking. Suddenly, the portrait hole opened and Sirius and James entered the common room. They walked toward the table, but made to walk past it, Sylvie caught Sirius' eye and gave him a small smile.

As Sirius and James passed, Remus stood. "Sirius," he said.

Sirius turned, surprised. "Hi," Remus said simply.

"Hi," Sirius replied uncertainly.

They stared at each other for a moment, then Remus stuck out his hand. Sirius glanced down at it for a second, then grasped it, shaking it heartily and grinning. Remus grinned back and the boys entered into a very fleeting hug, so as not to be too conspicuous about it.

"Let's lay off the firewhiskey from now on, shall we?" Remus said once James and Sirius had sat down at the table.

Sirius looked at him. "I really am sorry, Moony," he said earnestly.

Remus merely shook his head.

Sylvie beamed at her brother and Sirius. She was positively gleeful that their reunion had gone so well. Everything was well on its way to going back to normal.

She felt, however, an unexpected pang of regret at this thought when she stole a glance at Sirius' beaming face from across the table. Now that she had what she wished, she wasn't sure if it was really even what she wished anymore.


	7. Saints and Sinners

"_When it started we were alright,_

_But night makes a fool of us in daylight..._

_There we were dying of frustration,_

_Saying 'Lord, lead me not into temptation,"_

–_Coldplay_

_---_

**Saints and Sinners**

Sylvie and Callahan had been dating for a year. Sylvie was now in her fifth year, and Callahan was in his seventh and final year at Hogwarts. During this time, they had grown quite close, although Sylvie, try as she might, could not push thoughts of Sirius from her mind.

Sirius, in fact, had gone back to his old ways, but in a more refined fashion. He'd made amends immediately with Holly, who, of course, jumped at the slightest show of interest from the handsome boy. He did not, however, ask her out again. Holly, therefore, was left slightly jilted when he asked out Catherine Willoughby, the girl in his year, also in Gryffindor, whom he'd dated for the longest time of any, three months in their fourth year. Sirius knew he was settling, and that Catherine was really no match for Sylvie in his mind, but he didn't want to be alone and she was a very sweet girl, and fairly pretty. He and Catherine dated on and off throughout the rest of his fifth year, and over the summer, and into the present. Catherine would occasionally become fed up with Sirius' ways, and his sometimes obvious favoring of Sylvie, even in front of Catherine, but she always came back because he was charming and, well, he was Sirius Black.

Sylvie had some difficulty with the fact that Sirius was going out with Catherine, but she decided the same as he'd decided about Callahan; if Sirius were to go out with anyone, it might as well be Catherine.

Sylvie had been pleased to discover that she'd been made a prefect. She came to know Catherine through the prefect meetings, as well as Lily Evans, the girl for whom James Potter perpetually declared his love, even though he was perpetually rejected. Sylvie could easily see the appeal; Lily was an extremely pretty girl with long, red hair and almond-shaped, surprisingly green eyes. While Lily was very kind, Sylvie could tell that she was not a person to be crossed. Sylvie secretly admired Lily for her brazen courage, which she'd first noticed during an incident last year when Sirius and James were publicly humiliating Severus Snape, a Slytherin boy who associated with types like Mulciber and Avery. Lily had quickly come to his defense, regardless of the popularity of James and Sirius, but when Snape had called her a mudblood, she had turned on him as well and ended the friendship that many had regarded as strange.

Callahan had, of course, been named Head Boy. Sylvie had received the letter from him telling her this shortly after the pre-term letters from Hogwarts arrived.

Sylvie didn't see Callahan for the entire summer. He was Muggle-born and came from a very wealthy Muggle family, with whom he traveled for the majority of the summer. Once the school year began, Sylvie found that he was very busy and spent much less time with her than he had the previous year.

They rarely ever had free time alone, as he always seemed to be busy with schoolwork, Quidditch game plans, and Head Boy duties. His attitude towards her did not change; he still treated her with the utmost courtesy, and the rare time they did spend together was fantastic, whether it was in the Gryffindor common room, walks on the grounds, or wherever they found themselves when they both had free time.

Although everything finally seemed to have found a balance in the lives of Sirius and Sylvie, things are very often not as they seem. Together in front of their friends, they were as they'd been before they'd kissed by the lake over a year earlier. Things were a bit cooler and more awkward, of course, but they did their best.

If only a thin layer of their careful façade were pealed back, their struggle would be obvious. Whenever one became too close to their respective girlfriend or boyfriend, the other would suddenly become extremely busy, or would find that something urgent was happening somewhere else that required their immediate attention: They would find some silent excuse not to look at each other during these times.

They'd seen each other once over the summer. Sylvie had spent the majority of her time with Vanessa, which was convenient seeing as Sirius spent the majority of his time with Remus, James and Peter, sometimes as James' house and sometimes at her own. It wasn't that she didn't want to see him (How she wanted to see him!), it was that she was afraid of what would happen if she were left alone with him, given what had happened the few times they were alone together the year before. So she found a way to make it so that she was not home when Sirius would be staying there.

She was due to arrive back home a few days before the term was to begin, and, she hoped, after Sirius would have left. She arrived back to her home very early in the morning by Floo powder, well before anyone was awake. As soon as she stepped out of the fireplace, however, she knew that Sirius, as well as James and Peter, was still there and her heart leapt and then sank. She took a deep breath as she looked around and surveyed the living room. The telltale sign was the two extra pairs of shoes places next to the fireplace. Sylvie did a double take. Shouldn't there have been three extra pairs of shoes? She sighed as she realized whose were missing, and looked out the window at the field behind her house.

He was down by the lake, she just knew it. She suddenly felt nervous and indecisive. Should she just go to her room and pretend to sleep until others were around to buffer her and Sirius or should she go to the place they first kissed and face him alone for the first time in months?

She knew the answer before she even asked herself the question. She quietly went to put her bag down in her room, checked herself in the mirror for any signs of ash or stray strands of hair, despite herself, and swiftly made her way outside into the balmy summer dawn.

As she approached the lake, she saw him immediately. He was standing on the bank, skipping stones across the lake's gleaming surface. He seemed taller to her than when she'd last seen him, which was highly likely considering his age.

She watched him for a few moments more, trying to build up her reserve and self-control, then she gingerly stepped closer to the rocky bank.

He spun around as soon as she was a few steps away. At first he looked shocked to see her, but then his face broke into the grin that make her feel warm inside.

"Hello, stranger," she said quietly, unable to stop herself from smiling too.

"And who are you? You look so much like a girl I used to know, but I haven't seen her in so long I can't be sure now…" he said sarcastically, the grin replaced by a mock-puzzled look.

"Oh stop, you know who I am," she giggled.

His face grew just the slightest bit more serious. "Yeah, I do," he said, nodding slightly.

She hated the awkward silence that followed. She wanted to keep the mood light; it was best for both of them. "Speaking of strangers, are you taller? You've definitely got a few inches on the boy I used to know," she said, smiling.

"Yeah, I guess I have, then," he said, seemingly bewildered.

"Suits you," she said simply. He grinned again.

"I'd say lets have a seat on the dock, but it's very early and I'm not quite in the mood to go in after you once you fall in again," he said in mock-disdain.

"Oh, please! You snuck up behind me and I was sitting all the way on the edge!" she said indignantly.

"Sure, Sylvie," he said, rolling his eyes.

"I mean it! You know my reflexes are normally cat-like," she said, unable to keep from smiling.

Sirius let out a bark-like laugh. "Then what was going on when James and I tried to teach you how to play Quidditch last summer?"

She shrugged simply. "I didn't want to make you feel bad about yourselves."

They stared at each other for a few moments, then simultaneously broke into laughter. They sat down on the grass behind the bank.

There was more of the silence Sylvie hated, and then Sirius asked her the question she had so far avoided asking herself.

"So where do we go from here, Silvery?" he asked quietly. She could feel him staring at her, but she kept her eyes on the lake, now glittering with the reflection of the rising sun.

"I don't know," she sighed. "I just don't know, Sirius." She made to glance at him and couldn't look away. His dark eyes were so warm and deep at that moment that she temporarily lost her breath. With the way she saw herself in his eyes, the way he looked at her then, she couldn't help but feel comfortable, despite the bleak turn the conversation had taken.

"This isn't easy," he said.

"I know it's not. Why do you think I was away all summer?" she said quietly.

He nodded, understanding.

"I guess…" Sylvie began slowly, thinking her words over before allowing them out of her mouth. "I guess it all comes down to whether we'd rather be saints or sinners."

He looked bewildered. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what kind of people do we want to be? Do we want to be the kind of people who sneak around behind their friends' backs and do things like we did last year, or do we want to try to be decent, and just…just try things out the way they are now? As friends?" It pained her to say this, but she knew she was right.

He nodded slowly, absorbing her words. "Saints or sinners…" he mused. "Well, I guess I could give saint a try, for a change," he said haughtily, his grin giving him away, but Sylvie didn't miss the trace of sadness in his eyes that reflected how she felt. It was getting harder and harder to be near him.

"I think that's the best way to go," she said softly.

He nodded again, looking away across the lake. "For now," he mumbled. She wasn't entirely sure if she'd heard him correctly, or if she'd heard him say anything at all, but if he'd said what she thought he'd said, she felt a warm feeling grow inside of her that refused to go away.

She sighed once again and turned to look out at the lake with him. After a few moments of less-awkward silence, Sirius spoke again.

"We'd better get inside before your mum and dad get up," he said, standing up and offering her his hand.

Sylvie stared at his large, square hand before her, and then up at his face, which was partially obscured by sunlight.

When she gripped his hand, he pulled her to her feet with ease. She looked up into his eyes for a moment, and then, without having any prior intention to do so, threw her arms around him in a tight hug. He instantly returned the gesture, resting his chin on the top of her head. She buried her face in his chest and inhaled deeply, trying to take as much of his soapy, spicy smell with her as she could.

"Silvery," he sighed softly. He tilted his head down slightly and kissed her forehead before they broke apart. She had never felt more at ease than when she was in his arms. She didn't realize she was crying until he smiled slightly and cupped her cheek with his large hand and wicked a tear away from under her eye with his thumb. She felt silly.

They stared at each other again and both nodded, understanding each other perfectly. Slowly, they made their way back to the house in the early morning sunlight.

Sirius and Sylvie upheld their silent agreement for the next four months. Their relationship was that of a friendship, a strong one to the untrained eye, but to the good friends of each party, the struggle was more than evident.

Despite the resolve on either end, they still avoided being alone together.

On the snowiest December night of the year so far, Sylvie and Callahan were walking the corridors. Since she had finished her work, and since Sirius and Catherine were sharing an armchair in the common room, she had decided to go with him on his nightly patrol, part of his duty as Head Boy.

They walked in silence. Did they really have nothing to say to each other? Sylvie tried to think of something. "How were your classes today, Cal?" she asked.

"Oh, you know, difficult as always, but manageable. What about yours?" he asked without looking at her; his eyes scanned the dark corridors, which were illuminated by the lit tips of his and Sylvie's wands.

"They were alright," she replied softly. "I'm having a bit of trouble with the Cheering Charm, do you think you could give me some help with it sometime?"

He smiled down at her, his face kind. "Of course, Sylvie, how about tomorrow before Quidditch practice?"

She smiled back. She was touched by his gesture, as she knew he was very busy as of late, what with Head Boy duties on top of his responsibilities as Captain of the Quidditch team. She was very glad to have him as her boyfriend, even if he wasn't…

_No, _she told herself. _Don't think about that. Not now. _She shook her head ever so slightly. Callahan's eyes were back on the corridors. She didn't notice him check his watch.

"It's almost nine o'clock, Sylvie, you should get back to the common room," he said, stopping. She realized that they were at a crossway of corridors, ones that she recognized. If she took the one on her right, the Gryffindor common room entrance would be but a few steps away.

"But Cal, I've got nothing to do there, that's why I came out here with you," she said obstinately. Her mood worsened as she thought of Sirius and Catherine together in that armchair. She was in no rush to get back.

"Sylvie, do you really want to be caught out after hours?" he asked, his voice soft, but with a very stern undertone.

"Why, are you going to take points from Gryffindor if you catch me?" she huffed.

"No, I…" he began, confused by his girlfriend's uncharacteristic attitude.

"Or is it that you're afraid you'll be caught with me out of bed at a late hour and that you'll be held responsible?" she said, he voice angry. "I'm not a child, Callahan, so stop patronizing me."

"Sylvie!" he said sternly, snapping her out of her angry state. "You're being ridiculous. I _know_ you're not a child." She'd never heard him use that tone of voice off of the Quidditch field before, and he'd certainly never used it in speaking to her.

They stood in uncomfortable silence for a few moments.

"I just don't want you to get in trouble. I'm sorry if it seemed like something else to you," he said softly, in the low voice that Sylvie happened to like.

"Yeah, well, I'm sorry too," she said, stepping away from him. Her bad mood would not subside.

"You're not even going to kiss me good night?" Callahan asked. The slight tone of jest in the way he asked made her even more angry, but she kept it at bay, seeing as there was no use to get into it there and then. It just bothered her to no end that he didn't even take her anger seriously! She sighed, rolled her eyes and stepped towards him.

"Good night, Cal," she said softly, reaching up and planting a small kiss on his cheek before turning and walking towards the Gryffindor common room.

"Good night, Sylvie," he said quietly. He watched her retreating form until she disappeared behind the portrait. Once she was gone, he shook his head to regain his focus. She'd been so moody and waspish lately, she didn't at all seem like the Sylvie he had started dating a year ago. It vexed him, even though he knew it shouldn't. He sighed to himself and continued on his rounds.

Sylvie was in a worse mood upon reentering the common room. The fact that Sirius and Catherine were now on different sides of the room, talking to different groups of friends helped only a small bit.

She chose a seat next to Vanessa, who sat with Remus, Holly, James, Sirius, and Peter. She avoided Sirius' eyes, as she had learned to do when she returned from anything involving Callahan.

Vanessa also knew better not to ask her friend anything about her excursion in Sirius' presence. "Hi, Sylvie," she said simply.

"Hi. How's your work going?" Sylvie asked.

"I just finished it actually."

"Oh, good," Sylvie said brightly.

Vanessa nodded and glanced sideways at Remus, something that didn't go unnoticed by Sylvie. James, Sirius and Peter were involved in a discussion of their own, one that was apparently very funny.

It didn't escape her that the awkwardness of her and Sirius' situation had seeped through to their friends' actions when they were all together. Instead of ribbing Sylvie about being out with Callahan, like James normally would have done if Sirius wasn't present, James was decidedly distant from her. This behavior, along with Vanessa's seeming lack of interest in what had gone on, given that Sylvie's mood was obviously worse, led Sylvie to believe that their friends were in on a silent agreement of their own when it came to Sirius and Sylvie.

The night ended with Catherine coming back to sit on Sirius' lap again and Sylvie suddenly developing a splitting headache that could only be cured with bed rest.

---

A week later, Sylvie was walking in the corridor at night again, but for a different reason; she had a particularly nasty essay to write for potions and had gone to the library for more books to use as sources. She was alone.

Having lost track of time, she stayed longer than she'd intended, and before she knew it, the library was closing.

She walked quickly and briskly back to the common room, not enjoying being alone in the dark corridors. Along the way, she thought she heard gruff voices not far from her. She walked faster, and soon she crashed into a tall, lean figure with dark hair and nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Sylvie?" whispered Sirius. He'd placed a hand on either of her shoulders to steady her.

"Oh, Sirius," she whispered back. "You scared the living daylights out of me, I thought I heard—"

"Shh," Sirius said sharply, his head turned, obviously listening to their surroundings.

They both heard the gruff voices again, more clearly now. Sirius recognized one of them as Mulciber and assumed the other was another Slytherin.

"…don't know what you're getting at Mulciber, why do we have to be out here so late?" one of the voices near whined.

"Will you shut up?" Mulciber snapped. "We don't want to get caught by one of the teachers, or worse yet, that stupid Mudblood Head Boy, Knightly."

Sirius heard Sylvie make a quiet but indignant noise. He cringed inwardly.

The other voice made a disgusted noise. "This school has really gone to the dogs. A Mudblood Head Boy! Atrocious."

"He does have Lupin's sister as a girlfriend though," Mulciber said. "What I wouldn't give to be alone in a room with her for a while…"

"Mulciber! A Gryffindor? Please. And don't even think about it, you know who Lupin's friends are."

"Black and Potter," Mulciber spat.

"Yes, and is a Gryffindor fifth year really worth it?"

"Have you seen her?" Mulciber replied greedily.

"Of course I've seen her, idiot, but I've also seen what Black and Potter are capable of, and they'd do a lot worse than make you go bald for a few weeks if you did anything—"

"They're damn right we would," Sirius growled, his grip tightening with rage at the sound of Mulciber's words.

Sylvie was appalled by what she'd heard, and terrified. She was also very thankful that she'd bumped into Sirius on this particular night.

"I am going to—rip—them—limb—from—limb…" Sirius continued, edging towards the voices.

"No, Sirius!" she hissed desperately. "Let's get away from them, please!" She hadn't intended for her voice to show her distress so much, but she couldn't hide it.

Reluctantly, Sirius nodded and took her hand, pulling her silently into the nearest classroom and sealing the door.

"I cannot _believe_ those bastards!" he growled, shoving a desk out of his way as he entered the room. He stood with his back to her, leaning over the desk, his hands clutched on either side, trying to calm himself. Then, he began to pace. "At least they know enough to be afraid, because if any of those Slytherins lays one filthy finger on you, they will wish they'd never come to school here." His tone and mannerisms were malicious until he stopped to look at Sylvie, who'd sat down at a desk and had her head in her hands. He could tell she wasn't crying, but he didn't like to see her distressed.

"Sylvie," he said, stepping closer to her. She sat up to look at him. "I don't want you to worry about one single thing. James and Remus and I will make sure nothing ever happens to you." The gears in his head began to turn as he thought of ways to take preventative measures against Mulciber and his friends.

Sylvie stared at Sirius' face for a long time. His voice was low and soothing to her, exactly what she wanted to hear. She feared nothing at this moment. Nothing at all, while she was with him.

She noticed how close he was standing to her; he was almost up against the desk, right in front of her.

Sirius, as close as he was, could count the small amount of freckles on her nose. He'd never noticed them before.

They could feel the heat radiate off of their bodies, could hear each other's every breath, every heartbeat, growing louder in the silent classroom. Sylvie vaguely felt Sirius' hands grasp her waist, he moved them tentatively up her back and down to her waist again. She was also vaguely aware that she'd her hands were resting on his shoulders. All that mattered here his eyes.

Her eyes. Mirroring, for the first time ever, his expression of longing and intensity. The distance between them continued to close.

As Sylvie closed her eyes and prepared herself, one thought ran through her mind. It was very quiet and faint, but she just heard it.

_Saint or sinner?_

The answer was clear as their lips collided.

**AN: So sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. I hope you enjoy it because I really enjoyed writing it. I've already started working on the next chapter, so it won't be long before that's up too. Read, enjoy, and review please! **


	8. All the World's a Stage

**All the World's a Stage**

Sylvie had never felt anything like it. It consumed her, took hold of her every sense, and all she wanted was to be closer to Sirius. She threw her arms around his neck and drew him closer to her, causing him to have to place one of his hands on the desk to keep his balance. His other hand held an even tighter grip on her waist.

"Sylvie," he panted between kisses.

"Sirius," she breathed. He drew her even closer to him. "Oh, Sirius!" she gasped. Her hands were in his hair.

His hands began to travel up her waist again. Before he could get too far, Sylvie softly bit his bottom lip.

He pulled away slightly, but didn't let go of her. "What was that for?" he said, not meaning to sound frustrated at being stopped.

"You know what it was for," she said sternly, giving him a quizzical look. He instantly lowered his hands down to her waist and looked sheepish.

"Sorry…" he cleared his throat. "Got a bit…carried away."

"Yes," she sighed. "We both did."

She looked so pretty then that he couldn't look away, even though it was starting to hurt again. He knew he would drop Catherine in a second to be with Sylvie, despite how despicable that seemed, but he wasn't sure Sylvie would do the same to Knightley. From what he saw whenever he was around them, which was not very often, he could tell that Sylvie actually liked Knightley quite a bit and was committed to him. The thought ate away at him, but he couldn't hide from it.

He stared at her face for some time. Her eyes were sparkling and alive like he'd never seen them before and her lips were pink from their kissing. A stray strand of hair fell in front of her eyes and he tucked it back behind her ear before she could herself. His hand lingered on her soft cheek. She closed her eyes.

"What are we going to do now, Sirius?" she sighed, opening her eyes.

He just shook his head. "Nudge over," he said, sitting on the desk next to her. She leaned her head against his chest and he put his long arm around her shoulders. He exhaled and then spoke.

"I don't think we can very well just ignore this anymore. You can't deny that," he said slowly and quietly.

There was a pause before she replied. "I don't think we can either, it's just…." Another pause. "Everyone else. What a mess."

"I was afraid you'd say that," he said. "You have to know I'd leave Catherine in a heartbeat if I could ever have you, but I'm not so sure you feel the same way about Knightley." He couldn't help the scowl that came to his mouth.

Sylvie stopped to think. She definitely didn't want to hurt Callahan, and she knew he really cared about her and he certainly treated her perfectly well. She cared a lot about him, too.

But then she thought about how he'd treated her the other night, how busy he was, how she always seemed to come in second. And no matter what he did, he couldn't make her feel like Sirius. She knew these things weren't his fault, but she couldn't keep Sirius out of her mind.

Suddenly, something bothered her. "Why do you go out with Catherine if you don't even care about her?" she asked hesitantly.

"Sylvie, come on," he said, seemingly agitated.

She was taken aback. She'd expected at least some kind of attempt at justification. "But…but how can you be with someone you don't care about? She's a really nice girl, Sirius, that's awful…"

He jumped up from the desk and began to pace again. Sylvie remained seated, watching him.

"I do care about her, Sylvie, I just…she's not…"

"She's not what?"

He stopped to look at her. "She's not you."

"So you're using her?" she snapped angrily.

He just stared. There was no good way to answer her question. "I wanted to be decent, to show you that I could have a girlfriend and not have to be with a bunch of girls, you know, because of what you said to me in the common room last year…"

"Oh my God, Sirius!" Sylvie cried.

"You asked me and I gave you an honest answer. You know I love you, Sylvie," he said in a low voice.

She paused and a horrible thought came to her. "Have you two…er…had…" she began tentatively, not wanting to hear the answer.

"Sylvie…" he said, looking at her with a pained expression on his face.

"You have, haven't you?" she snapped. "How unfair to her, how could you do…?" She trailed off, anger erasing the words from her mind mid sentence.

"I…I haven't done anything wrong! You and I were barely even speaking, and Catherine and I were both ready…" He didn't think it was a good idea to tell her that he'd thought of her the whole time. It had been both of their first times, and it was an awkward and strange experience. They'd done it a fair amount of times since then, and Sirius always felt guilty afterwards, and during for that matter, for his mind being so far from Catherine. He also felt unfaithful to Sylvie, in a strange way, even though he told himself it was ridiculous.

Sylvie jumped up from the desk and stood up, avoiding his eyes. "I don't want to hear anymore," she said in an uncharacteristically sharp voice, trying to mask the tears she knew would come soon. She hated crying so easily. She sometimes wished to be more resolute and controlled, like Vanessa. It would be a cold day in Hell when Vanessa cried in public. "Let's get back to the common room now."

"Sylvie, come on…" he pleaded softly. "You and Knightley never…?"

"Don't _tell _me to _come on_, Sirius!" she almost yelled. "We've only ever kissed, not that _that _matters at this point. _I _wouldn't jump into bed with someone if I wasn't sure I even cared about them."

Sirius felt a wave of relief flow over him, but he was immediately disgusted with himself for being such a hypocrite. His annoyance with Sylvie's judgmental attitude was temporarily put on a back burner in his mind.

"But then again," she continued. "I'm not arrogant and obnoxious, and I don't believe that everyone is just there for the taking. I can't relate to that standpoint." Her tone was like acid. Sirius was taken aback by her sudden attitude.

"Sylvie, I've never seen this side of you before…and I can't say I don't like it," he said, unable to hide his smirk.

His joking tone made her think of Callahan the other night, and she grew even more irritated. "What is it with you boys? Why don't you understand that when I'm angry, it's usually for a good reason, and not for entertainment value?"

"What, did Callahan condescend to you? That's nothing new for him, believe me."

"It's none of your business," she snapped.

The smirk remained. "Well, no wonder he hasn't done anything other than kiss you," he said, not thinking.

"That is _so _inappropriate for you to say, Sirius," she said darkly.

"Inappropriate? It's not inappropriate for you to be alone in a dark classroom with me afterhours? You didn't seem to think it was inappropriate a few minutes ago…" he said, moving closer to her.

Sylvie felt a fresh rush of anger. Before her mind even formed a thought, she pulled back her hand and slapped him across the face. To her satisfaction, it removed his smirk.

"What…did you…did you really just _smack _me?" he said, shocked, rubbing his cheek gingerly.

"I'm leaving now," she said huffily. She spun around and moved towards the door. He stepped forward and gently took hold of her arm.

"Let go," she said shortly.

"Don't go out there."

"Why not? I said let go of me."

He took his hand off of her arm. "Fine, go then, if you want to be out there all alone with Mulciber and who ever the hell else he was with out on the loose," he bluffed.

She made a disgusted noise, but she didn't leave, although she wouldn't admit to him how afraid she was of the Slytherins they'd heard. "I hate you," she said matter-of-factly.

"No you don't," he said confidently, tentatively putting his arms around her, so he'd be ready to move away in case she decided to slap him again. To his relief, she sighed and returned his gesture. She barely reached his shoulder when they were both standing. They were silent for a moment.

"Why can't I just actually hate you? Why does this have to be so hard?" she said suddenly, breaking away from him.

"It doesn't have to be," he said softly. She felt calmer for a moment, then she began to squirm.

"Yes it does! I can't just play with people like you do," she cried.

Something inside him snapped and he felt angry, not with her, but in general. "So you're willing to put the happiness of other people before your own? I know I could make you happier than anyone in the world, and I would treat you like a princess." He put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "I know you want me more than you want him, Sylvie, I can see it in your eyes. I can feel it when we kiss. Just admit it to yourself. Let yourself go!"

But she shook herself free of him. "You are so arrogant even I can't believe it sometimes," she said as coldly as she could. "We need to get back to the common room."

Sirius was fuming before he knew it and fought to keep control of himself. He lashed out and kicked a desk nearby. "I don't get it, Sylvie!" He turned to face her. "Why? Why don't you see that we're perfect for each other?"

"I…what…?" she sputtered at his outburst.

"Sylvie," he said, swooping down on her, cupping her face in his hands and kissing her lips. "You can smack me as many times as you like, but nothing else matters…"

She shook her head fervently. "Things do matter, Sirius," she said. She couldn't stop the tears now. "I don't want to hurt you but I don't want to hurt…anyone else either."

As she shook her head, Sirius noticed something glinting around her neck. He gently held the chain and pulled it out of her shirt, revealing the pendant.

It was the silver bursting star pendant he'd given her for Christmas years ago. His heart skipped a beat.

Her eyes were wide when she stared up at him.

"You…you still wear this?"

She nodded. "Not all the time, but most of it…" she trailed off in a quiet voice, looking away from him as tears streamed down her face.

All the anger ebbed out of him as he looked at her wearing the necklace he'd given her. He gently put his hand under her chin and turned her face to his. Without a word, he kissed her softly on the lips and she put her arms around his neck once again.

He understood then that she wasn't rejecting him, that she loved him. He understood that it was her instinct to be kind and to put others' feelings before her own. He was suddenly full of emotion and felt a rush of affection for her like never before as their kiss deepened. Her innate goodness was pervasive and he knew it was the core of why he loved her.

"Sylvie," he whispered in her ear. "I love you, and I know you love me too. All we need is time, and this will work itself out. There's something strong here, and it'll last, I'm sure of it. I'm not ever going to rush you into anything."

Sylvie let out a sob.

"Don't cry anymore, Silvery, everything will be fine soon enough," he said soothingly.

Sylvie broke away and nodded, wiping the tears away from her face with the back of her hand. "I do love you," she said softly and earnestly, more as a confirmation for herself than to him. He grinned and kissed her again.

"I never realized how annoying you can be until tonight," Sylvie said to him as they walked back to the common room.

Sirius snorted. "And I never realized how scary you are when you're angry," he said. She smirked.

They were silent upon approaching the portrait. When Sylvie opened her mouth to say the password, Sirius suddenly leaned down and kissed her quickly. "I still love you though," he said, smirking.

"Sirius!" she hissed indignantly, fixing her hair. He loved hearing her say his name, regardless of the context. He smirked as she said the password to the Fat Lady. She raised her eyebrows at them, but swung open wordlessly.

When they were inside, they silently went their different ways; Sylvie to Callahan and Sirius to Catherine.

Callahan had watched Sylvie come through the portrait hole with Black. He didn't like what he saw at all. He knew they were friends, something Sylvie was insistent upon, but he also saw the way she looked at him when she thought no one else was watching.

Sylvie leaned down and gave Callahan small kiss on the lips before taking a seat in the chair beside him.

"Where were you, Sylvie?" he asked nonchalantly, disguising his other emotions.

"I was at the library, Cal, I told you that. I lost track of time and Madam Pince closed it on me," Sylvie said quietly.

"Oh," said Callahan. "Have you been crying?" he asked, his voice riddled with concern as he noticed the slight redness around her eyes.

"What? Oh, no…does it look like I have been?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Yes, it does, a bit," he said, surveying her. "Maybe it's just the lighting in here."

They didn't speak again for some time. He glanced at her from time to time; something was different about her. She had definitely been crying, but why would she lie about it to him? And she looked somehow more disheveled than usual. Then, a question he didn't like at all popped into his head.

"Why did you come back with Black?"

Sylvie stiffened. "I just happened to bump into him on my way back to the common room," she said. "Why do you ask?"

"Well," he began, his gray-blue eyes boring into her. He spoke slowly and deliberately. "It just seems a bit strange that you bump into the one person who's made it very clear that he likes you in a way far past friendship, in a dark corridor afterhours."

Sylvie's eyes narrowed. "That was over a year ago, Cal. You really need to get past it because we're good friends now, and that's not going to change."

"You are so naïve, Sylvie," he said in a low voice. He kept his temper well in check, but he could feel it flaring underneath the surface. "If you think for five seconds someone like that doesn't have any intentions other than friendly ones, then I really worry about your judgment."

"Don't be ridiculous. I've known him since I was eleven," she said coolly, better at hiding her temper than he was.

He exhaled, trying even harder to keep his anger from showing. Sylvie saw past his efforts, though, and she knew he was angrier with her than he'd ever been.

"Fine," he said shortly, glaring at her. "I'm sorry for expecting that I have a right to know with whom my _girlfriend_ walks the corridors after hours."

She was taken aback. He glared for a few more moments, and then turned back to his work. Sylvie continued to look at him while he worked. She wanted to say a few things to him, things that she would surely regret later, but then she remembered that _she _was the one wronging _him_. She truly felt guilty for what she'd done with Sirius and a pit grew in her stomach. She knew Callahan had every right to be upset.

She reached out and touched his arm. "Cal," she said softly. He turned towards her once more. She was thankful that his expression was kinder than before. "I understand why you're upset." She dared not say anything else; she knew she was a bad liar.

Regardless of the circumstances, her voice had a soothing effect. He grasped her hand. "It's alright, Sylvie," he said. He leaned over the chair and kissed her cheek. Whatever had happened, he decided that he didn't want to know. He liked Sylvie enough that he could ignore any part of her life involving Black.

Sylvie thought she was going insane, with all the swings her mood was taking lately. Despite feeling sorry for being deceptive, she felt a slight twinge of annoyance at Callahan's response. It had seemed like he thought of his affirmation as a kind of validation. It was alright because _he said _it was alright, therefore alleviating Sylvie of all guilt. She didn't have to be guilty anymore because _he said _she didn't have to. Like her problems and her concerns were _so much _less important than his, not important enough to make a dent on his psyche.

She imagined what it would be like if she were dating Sirius and he noticed something was amiss. She knew Sirius wouldn't look at her with a maddeningly condescending expression, and say, "It's alright, Sylvie," and give her a patronizing kiss on the cheek that was a step up from a pat on the head. Sirius would have known she was lying the second a lie left her mouth, and she wouldn't have been able to keep it in. None of this, however, could she fully discern because she knew if she were dating Sirius Black, the thought of deceiving him at any point would never even cross her mind.

She nodded silently to herself. She knew it then. She'd end up with Sirius. He was what she wanted and needed. Her stomach, though, dropped when she looked at Callahan sitting next to her. It really was unfortunate; he was a very good person, this she knew. But he wasn't a very good person _for her_. She felt responsible for what she would eventually have to do, whenever she worked up the nerve and decided to stop sneaking around with her brother's best friend.

What had she been thinking with that "saints and sinners" nonsense? She realized the population could not possibly be divided into a category of saints and a category of sinners. What happened to those whose intentions were never anything but good, but whose actions were misguided because of internal vulnerability and a need to please others, mixed with a love that overpowered the good intentions? Yes, it was unfortunate. Callahan had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. She surveyed him bent over his table, the parchment of whatever homework he was doing inches from his nose. He'd do great things with his life. Whatever he set his mind to, he'd achieve. He had no idea about what she was going to do to him.

She sadly turned her gaze to Sirius and Catherine across the room, forced herself to look, even though it hurt her. He sat with his arm around her shoulders and they were both laughing, presumably at something James had said or some stupid thing Peter had done. Was Sirius' façade becoming as fragile as hers? She studied his face, trying to see if any cracks or flaws were visible.

Her heart skipped a beat. She could tell this wasn't the same laugh and smile that she'd seen when they sat by the lake. His was a hollow laugh, and his smile was empty. His expression contained no warmth. Did this excite her? She didn't know anymore. Suddenly, his eyes met hers and mirrored her expression. She held his gaze for a few moments before shaking her head, trying to rid herself of the guilt and unease. Catherine's laugh was genuine. She didn't know, either.

She looked away from the scene all together and turned back to Callahan. "I'm going to bed," she said softly as she stood from her chair.

Callahan looked up at her with a puzzled expression. "Is everything alright?" he asked.

Sylvie was in no mood. "Yes. I'm tired," she replied in a decidedly sharp voice. She was already walking away. She could feel both Callahan's and Sirius' eyes on her back as she fled the scene. She needed solitude now.

The girls' dormitory was thankfully empty. When Sylvie had flopped down on her bed and taken a few deep breaths, she realized something that made her disgusted with herself: She and Sirius had knowingly made Callahan and Catherine into casualties. For someone who generally put others' happiness before her own, Sylvie felt irrevocably and incurably selfish.

Just then, Pepper jumped up on her bed and sat down next to her. She cooed to him and scratched behind his ears. As he purred, she became lost in her thoughts again.

"All the world's a stage, Pepper," she told her cat, thinking of Shakespeare's uncanny understanding of the human condition and feeling far from tired as she looked up at the black ceiling as Pepper watched her with his big quizzical eyes.

---

Sirius watched Sylvie leave and felt a knot in his stomach. He could just about read her mind. James eyed him curiously but inconspicuously. He'd noticed the way both Sylvie and Sirius looked upon reentering the common room and he suspected, to his disdain, that they'd done more than walk back together.

The population in the room dwindled eventually, leaving James and Sirius alone in their corner. Sirius looked up to find James staring at him. At first, he tried to ignore it, but he eventually found it too invasive. "What?" he said shortly.

"You know what."

"I don't want to talk about it."

James sighed. "You have to, you look like you're about to combust."

"Don't tell me what to do, Prongs," Sirius replied edgily.

"Fine, suit yourself," James said as he turned away.

"I kissed Sylvie again tonight in an empty classroom," he blurted out.

James turned around swiftly. "Good lord, mate," he said.

"It was amazing," Sirius said earnestly, his eyes momentarily glazing over.

"Ugh, Padfoot…" James said, obviously frustrated with his friend's lack of restraint. Sylvie was the closest thing to a sister he had; he couldn't help feeling brotherly protectiveness almost as strong as that of Remus.

"I know, I know," Sirius sighed. "I couldn't help it."

James shook his head slowly and thought the situation over. He knew Sirius knew, after his outburst over a year earlier, that Remus was opposed to Sirius' feelings for Sylvie. James had never known Remus to be excitable, but he distinctly remembered being afraid of being in between Remus and Sirius when Sirius was drunkenly ranting. Remus, if truly angered, was not a person one would like to be in the way of. "You must really like her," James said, voicing his conclusion.

Sirius sighed. "I really do, so much it scares me sometimes."

This was one of the rare moments where Sirius revealed how he truly felt, James realized. Without trying to play it off as a joke or being surly, Sirius was just being honest.

"Does she—"

"Yes, she does," Sirius said, trying to keep from smiling. He loved knowing that Sylvie loved him too, despite the circumstances.

"How do you know?"

"You remember that necklace I got her for Christmas s few years ago?"

"Why the hell would I remember a gift you got for Sylvie? " James said incredulously. "Are you—"

"It doesn't matter, Prongs," Sirius said quickly, cutting him off. "I got her this necklace and it looks like a star, it's silver…the fact is that…she still wears it. Most of the time."

"So how do you know—"

"I just do. She also _said_ it," Sirius snapped.

"Well, you could have just told me that instead of asking me if I remember what kind of jewelry you've bought her," James said, shaking his head. He couldn't help feeling a little bit happy for his best friend, even though he felt a bit sorry for Catherine, who really was a nice girl.

Sirius rolled his eyes and didn't say anything more, going over the night's events in his head.

"So…what about Catherine, then?" James asked tentatively.

Sirius exhaled for a long time. "Well, that's the bitch of it," he said. "I feel kind of awful about it. And Sylvie really likes Knightley, so it's…it's just a bit of a mindfuck, isn't it?"

James snorted. "Yeah," he said. "Only you could get yourself into a situation like this. Sneaking around with Moony's sister, who happens to be with our Quidditch captain. Oh, and you're dating the second-best-looking girl in our year…for what reason exactly?"

Sirius punched James' arm and rolled his eyes again. "Wait…second-best-looking? Who's the best?" he asked.

"Evans, obviously," James said, trying to hide how much it bothered him that Lily Evans didn't return his feelings.

Sirius saw this and decided against ribbing his friend as he normally would have. They both knew how it felt to have their feelings be unrequited, as much as they hated to think of it.

Sirius' thoughts again turned to Sylvie. He knew she loved him too,

"I think I'll turn in now," James said, nodding.

"Ok. I've still got this damned essay to write. Slughorn will be the death of me, I swear," he mumbled.

"'Night then," James said, walking towards the boys' dormitories.

"'Night."


	9. Silver Bells

**Silver Bells**

A few more cold, snowy weeks came and went. Sylvie knew she wasn't herself, and her friends noticed it as well, but the only one who could truly see through her dismissals of being busy with schoolwork and prefect duties was Vanessa. She, however, knew better than to bring it up with Sylvie because although Sylvie was possibly the worst liar on the face of the earth, if she didn't want anyone to know something, it would seem as though she had a bad case of lockjaw whenever the subject came up. Vanessa knew her best friend would tell her in good time.

Remus, on the other hand, was not as patient.

He sat at a table alone with Vanessa one night. He was feeling very restless, for more than one reason.

"What's the matter?" she asked. Could she read his mind?

"I just…I don't even know how to verbalize it," he said, looking at her. She was pretty as usual, with her long dark hair and eyes to match.

"Well, why don't you try?" she said kindly. She was quite used to Remus' clamming up; it was something he and his sister had in common.

"I…I guess, you know, _this_, is the heart of the matter," he said, gesturing to her. The truth was, she didn't, and couldn't, if he had his way, know exactly what was the heart of the matter. He hated to lie, but how could she still like him if she knew about his…_condition_? He didn't want to let it, but he knew it was eating away at him.

Vanessa sighed. "I know what you mean," she said softly, looking away from him. She could tell he felt the same way she did about their relationship. They were both guilty about being so secretive about it, but at the same time they didn't want everything to be open to scrutiny like certain other couples.

"I feel like we should tell them," Remus said, looking at Vanessa out of the corner of his eye. "Well, except for Sirius, of course."

"Oh, that was mortifying," Vanessa said.

"I made him swear to secrecy, and Sirius is nothing if not a man of his word."

"I find that a little difficult to believe," Vanessa mumbled skeptically.

"I think I know him a bit better than you do," Remus said a bit coolly.

"Whatever you say," she said.

"Anyway, I think at least Sylvie should know," he said thoughtfully. "That's really what I meant by 'them,' I don't think we need to tell the others about it just yet," he said, grinning slightly.

"No, no. Ugh, James and Peter! We'd never hear the end of it! You hear the way they all are about Sylvie and Callahan. Well, the way James is, at least…" Vanessa trailed off, knowing she shouldn't have even brought that up.

Remus shook his head. "He still likes her then?"

"What do you think?" she asked wryly.

"I know, I know. It's just, they're both seeing other people, they have been for a long time, I just don't get it…"

"Well, you know that _you're _a factor in that whole mess, don't you?" Vanessa asked, probably not as tentatively as she should have.

"What do you mean?"

"I _mean_ that they have obviously liked each other for a long time but one of the reasons that nothing has come of it is because you're Sylvie's brother and Sirius' best friend. Something tells me, and I don't know what, that Sylvie is the noble one in this situation, but that's only a guess," she explained.

Remus sighed with frustration. "Do you think I'm wrong for being a bit pissed that he acted the way he did? Do _you _think he's a good person for her?"

"To be perfectly honest with you, no, I don't think he is." Remus looked at her, somewhat taken aback. He hadn't expected such a blunt answer, even from Vanessa. "But," she continued. "I do think that it'll be completely impossible for them to stay away from each other for any amount of time, and even though there were probably never two more different people in the world, and even though it could, and probably will, be a kind of, well, train wreck in the future, I think they've got that _thing_, you know?"

"No…?" he said, perplexed.

Vanessa shook her head. "That _thing_, that makes people act against their better judgment, that makes them go headfirst into situations where they know they'll probably end up with their hearts broken, but they can't stop, because of that thing." She stopped and Remus stared at her. "I really don't know how I can make it much clearer to you, Remus," she said.

"No, it's clear, I just…I want to know how you can _know_ all of this," he said incredulously.

"I watch and I listen," she said, grinning slightly.

He gripped her hand firmly under the table. He still didn't like the notion of Sirius dating Sylvie, but Vanessa had made him see how unreasonable the situation was. He realized then that he would have little control over what happened between Sirius and Sylvie, and that there would come a point at which he would have to just watch and listen, like Vanessa did, and let the pieces fall where they may. They were only human, after all.

"Then what are the other reasons, since you're so wise?" he grinned.

"Well, regardless of _that thing_, Sylvie is very smart and intuitive, and I think from the beginning she saw, and still sees, how Sirius is, and I think deep down she knows he probably won't change, even though she wants him to more than anything. And I can tell she does really like Callahan, probably more than she lets on."

"Hmm. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens," he said thoughtfully. That was exactly what he planned to do.

"I think that's a smart way to handle this, Remus," she said softly.

"Why, thank you, I'm glad you approve," he said sarcastically with a smirk.

Vanessa rolled her eyes.

"So…about telling Sylvie…" he said.

"Yes, about her…I agree with you, I think she deserves to know. And she'll be able to keep her mouth shut about it, that's for sure."

"So when should we do it?"

"We'll know when the time is right, Remus, it'll be soon," she said soothingly.

"I feel a bit like a hypocrite for all this," he mused.

"Well, you are a hypocrite," Vanessa said matter-of-factly.

Remus never ceased to be taken aback by Vanessa's bluntness.

"What? It's true! Well, mostly true, given that I am nothing like Sirius Black and I highly doubt Sylvie will even be offended," Vanessa said. "Oh, God, she'll probably be revolting, though. I hope she doesn't cry."

Remus laughed at the thought of his sister's oversensitivity.

Vanessa always knew how to make him feel at ease. He only wished she knew everything about him, because he knew that was the only way he'd ever feel completely at ease. He hated the feeling of the unknown; it was nothing if not oppressive.

---

Remus was not the only one feeling restless lately. Sylvie was barely sleeping; on top of everything she had on her conscience, she also had a workload that seemed to grow steadily every day before Christmas break. She didn't talk much to anyone except for Vanessa, and even then she felt strained.

By the time Christmas break came around, Sylvie was very relieved. She had finished the vast majority of her work, she was going home, and Vanessa would be coming to visit for a few days. Both Sirius and Callahan would be nowhere near her for a few weeks, which would mean that break was going to be very relaxing for her, and would give her much time to think over her situation and possibly make a decision.

When Vanessa arrived on Christmas Eve, Sylvie was delighted. This was due in part to the general atmosphere of Christmas, which Sylvie loved. The glowing gold lights, the heavily decorated tree (which was covered in ornaments that were mostly from Remus and Sylvie's childhood and before), the smell of apple cinnamon and fresh pine needles all throughout the cozy house were all enough to make Sylvie forget her troubles. It even made these troubles seem trivial and Sylvie wondered why she'd even worried at all. Her spirits were high.

Vanessa was also very happy, if not a bit nervous, about her stay at the Lupin's home. As much as she looked forward to seeing Sylvie and Remus both, she knew that the time would probably come sooner than later when she and Remus would have to tell Sylvie about their relationship.

"Vanessa! I'm so glad you're here!" Sylvie said when Vanessa emerged from their fireplace. Vanessa laughed upon seeing her friend; Sylvie was wearing an apron and had what looked like a touch of flour on her face.

"I'm glad too. I forgot how great your house was! And it smells so good in here!" she exclaimed.

"Yes, Mum and I are baking for the dinner tomorrow," Sylvie said. "I'm waiting for the sugar cookies to come out of the oven, and then you can help me with decorating while I make the treacle tart!"

Vanessa laughed again at her beaming friend. Even though Vanessa had never made much more of a mess in the kitchen, Sylvie's enthusiasm was extremely contagious.

"Well that explains what you've got all over your face, Sylvie," she said, grinning.

"Shut up!" Sylvie laughed as she wiped her face.

"It's to the left of your nose, you prat," Vanessa said good-naturedly.

"Thanks a lot, idiot," Sylvie said, finding the flour and wiping it away. "You can go put your bags in my room in the meantime. Remus should be around here somewhere. Mum and Dad should be home from the store soon, they'll want to see you, you know how they are."

Vanessa walked down the familiar hall to Sylvie's bedroom. After she put down her bags, she went back into the hall, where bumped right into Remus.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. Remus grinned and swiftly but gently pulled her into his room and shut the door.

"Remus, are you insane?" she laughed as he began to kiss her, even though she really enjoyed it.

"Yes," he said between kisses.

"Really…Sylvie's right out there…and your parents are getting home soon…" Vanessa's protests were getting fainter and fainter, and she kissed him back and let everything else fall away.

Sylvie had busied herself with taking the cookies out of the oven and putting them on a large platter and had begun to make the pastry crust for the treacle tart. She loved to cook; it was something that she and her mother had done together since before she could even remember. It gave her a sense of peace for some inexplicable reason. She figured that if she could create something delicious from raw ingredients, then what else was possible? She felt the same way about Potions; she loved that something extraordinary, something that could help countless amounts of people, could be concocted using simply a recipe.

It was a few minutes before Sylvie noticed that it was taking Vanessa an unusually long time to put down her bags. Not thinking much of it, Sylvie walked down the hall to her room to see what Vanessa was doing. Strangely, there was no one in her room, but Vanessa's bags were there.

Then, she heard laughter coming from Remus' room. Without thinking, she walked across the hall and opened his door.

There they were, plain as day. Her brother and her best friend kissing as if they'd been doing it for years. Sylvie gasped audibly and drew her hand up to cover her mouth, causing them to jump. Both Remus and Vanessa looked as though the were caught in the headlights of an extremely large moving vehicle. They were too stunned to say a word.

"Oh, how could I have missed this?" Sylvie said incredulously through her hand. "I'm such a complete idiot!"

Vanessa and Remus still stood in shocked silence, each afraid to say a word.

Without warning, Sylvie broke into tears. Remus broke the silence. "Sylvie, we didn't mean to keep it from you, we—"

But Sylvie flung herself on them in a giant hug. "I love you both so much!" she sobbed. "This is wonderful!" She stood back to survey them, like a mother surveying two children of whom she was proud.

"Wait…so you're alright with this?" Remus said tentatively, as if he expected his sister to change her mind any second.

"Yes, Remus, why wouldn't I be? I just feel awful for not noticing it, I've been too wrapped up in…" she trailed off, looking sad for a moment. "Well, it doesn't matter, I'm really happy for both of you, and if you ever get married, then Vanessa will be my sister, which makes it even better!" She was beaming.

Vanessa let out a laugh.

"Well, I need to get back to my baking now, I'm sorry for interrupting…er, carry on, I suppose…" Sylvie said awkwardly on her way out.

Once she was gone, Vanessa looked at Remus and said, "Revolting. I told you so."

"Yes, you did, and that was not what I was expecting."

"No, I did not at all expect the tears. She's—"

"Completely mad, I know," Remus said bemusedly, grinning at Vanessa. "Imagine growing up with her."

Vanessa gaped at him. "I have so many questions."

Remus grinned and kissed her again.

Suddenly—"If you two aren't too _busy_, I need people to frost these cookies!" Sylvie's voice carried from the kitchen.

Vanessa sighed. "We shouldn't leave her to her own devices for too long, we don't know what she'll get up to. You could end up with an overabundance of baked goods, and then you'll have nowhere to live."

Remus laughed out loud. "We can't have that. And be careful about what colors you use. Sylvie's very particular about the designs on the cookies. They have to coordinate. Just do whatever she tells you."

After a short tutorial from Sylvie, Vanessa and Remus were decorating the cookies with ease while Sylvie herself continued to prepare the treacle tart.

"So how has your vacation been so far?" Vanessa asked.

"Fantastic. No work," Remus said, grinning at her.

Sylvie beamed at both of them, watching the exchange.

Vanessa looked at her quizzically.

Sylvie laughed. "I'm sorry, I just can't get over it!"

"You really aren't upset?" Remus asked.

"Obviously not, why would I be upset?" Sylvie asked brightly.

"No reason in particular, just…"

"Well, I'm perfectly secure in that Vanessa's intentions are wholly pure," Sylvie replied knowingly, as she knew Remus was thinking about his reaction to Sirius and Sylvie together.

Remus decided to change the subject. "Well…on a different note, Sirius and James and James' parents are coming to visit on Christmas day," he said matter-of-factly. "And I think Sirius and James are staying here for a few days after that."

Sylvie dropped the aluminum plate she was carrying from the cabinet to the counter and it fell to the floor with a loud clatter that made all parties jump. "WHAT?" she exclaimed.

"Yeah, they just told me the other day," Remus said, looking confused.

"_And you couldn't say a single word of it to me? You stupid prat!_" Sylvie hissed at her brother.

"What's the problem?" he said asked, raising his eyebrows.

Vanessa made a frustrated noise. As intuitive as Remus could be, he really did not pay enough attention to his friends.

Sylvie collected herself quickly. "There's no problem, I'm just…surprised…that's all. I'll need to bake more now. Those two will eat all of this as it is, knowing them," she mumbled, looking away as she busied herself collecting ingredients.

Remus started to say something, but Vanessa kicked his leg and shook her head sharply.

Regardless of how guilty he felt, he couldn't deny that he felt angered by Sirius' attraction to Sylvie. She was his _little _sister, and he couldn't help but feel very protective, especially from boys like Sirius, regardless of his friendship. He was intuitive enough to know that Sirius probably wouldn't change. He was also intuitive enough, however, to realize that this might not deter Sylvie. His conversation with Vanessa before the vacation still weighed heavily in his mind, and he remembered his conclusion. Sylvie deserved to make her own decisions, she wasn't a child anymore.

When the baking was finished for the day, Sylvie was still nervous about Sirius' impending visit. She and Vanessa were in Sylvie's room, getting Vanessa settled in.

"Oh my God, this is too much, I have to tell you something," Sylvie said, collapsing on her bed.

_Here it comes_, Vanessa thought. "What happened? What did he do to you?" she asked.

Sylvie raised her eyebrows. "_He _didn't do anything, it was both of us…oh God…"

"Out with it," Vanessa said sternly.

"Well…a few weeks ago, Sirius and I, well, _made out_, I guess, in an empty classroom." She paused for Vanessa's gasp, but she didn't gasp, she only nodded knowingly.

"I figured it was something like that," she said.

"It only happened because I was coming back late from the library and I literally ran into him in the corridors. And then we heard Mulciber and someone else's voice, and you remember what happened first year, and then they started talking about me, and then Sirius was going to attack them—"

"Stupid idiot," Vanessa mumbled.

"—But I wouldn't let him, I just wanted to get away, and we went into an empty classroom, and…well…" she trailed off, reliving the wonderful and horrible memory.

"Oh, Sylvie," Vanessa sighed.

"But, wait, it gets worse…we fought, I found out that he had sex with Catherine—"

"_What?_" Vanessa hissed.

Sylvie nodded. "M-hm, and he doesn't even really care about her, he said that he'd just dating her to show me that he can have a girlfriend, or something."

"Oh my God."

"I know! And then he said he'd leave her in a second if I would go out with him, and then he started saying inappropriate things about my relationship with Callahan." Sylvie felt her self beginning to panic as she relived all of this. "And he just made me so _angry_, I actually slapped him!"

"_You_ slapped him? I would have paid good money to see that."

Sylvie snorted. "It felt really good. I think he needs to be slapped every now and then, just to snap him out of his self-absorption," she said, giggling in spite of herself. She didn't mention the necklace; that was between her and Sirius.

Vanessa laughed.

Sylvie sighed. "So am I really horrible, Vanessa? Do I completely deserve to be burned at the stake?"

Vanessa shook her head. "Well, maybe not burned at the stake. A simple flaying would do, though," Vanessa replied wryly.

"Don't joke about this! Can't you see I'm anguished! And I can feel you judging me."

"I'm not judging, how inappropriate would that be? I have no room to talk, I've been sneaking around with your brother for the past year or so, and you just found out. We were planning to tell you during the time I was here, though, just so you know," Vanessa said hastily.

Sylvie shook her head. "That's completely different, Vanessa. I wouldn't have cared if I'd known, and you know I'm really happy about it, you couldn't be better for him," she said dismissively. "Cal, however, will probably try to kill Sirius again if he finds out, and he might even succeed this time."

"Ok, ok, calm down. No one needs to die. It comes down to this," Vanessa said evenly. "You either want to be with Sirius or Callahan. You have to choose."

"I know that, but it's not that easy," Sylvie whined.

"Yes it is. Five years from now, where do you see yourself?"

Sylvie thought. She envisioned herself almost instantly with Sirius. Her face must have been telling, because Vanessa said, "As if I even had to ask."

"Oh, shut up. It's not so obvious, you know. I really do like Callahan. He's sweet, so smart, good-looking, but…"

"Ugh, don't even finish that," Vanessa said, rolling her eyes. "But Callahan _is _graduating in about six months, unless you're already engaged. I wouldn't be surprised at this point."

Sylvie shook her head. "Sirius is such a _bastard_," she said, more to herself than to Vanessa.

"You said it. _How _you could wand him over Callahan Knightley is what really bewilders me about all of this, but I guess to each her own…"

"Oh, stop. I'm just so afraid of hurting Callahan…"

"Well, like I said, he's graduating in six months anyway, you can always just say it's because of that."

Sylvie nodded slowly, thinking over her options. Sirius would be there in less than twenty-four hours. She couldn't help but be a little bit excited.

---

The next night and morning passed satisfyingly quickly. It was to be a small Christmas party, just Mr. and Mrs. Lupin and Sylvie, Remus and Vanessa, plus James, Sirius, and Mr. and Mrs. Potter. The Lupins' only relatives, a brother of Mr. Lupin and his family, lived in France, and it was difficult for them to travel with their two young children.

By the time afternoon had rolled around, Sylvie and Vanessa were getting ready in Sylvie's room. Sylvie had put on a festive but simple deep red sweater-dress and black tights. She wore her hair down in its natural wavy state, although she did use some anti-frizz potion. Vanessa noticed Sylvie's careful preparation and didn't say anything, but smiled inwardly at the surely entertaining evening to come.

Sylvie anxiously moved things around in the kitchen with last minute hors d'oeurves preparations and such, but mostly she just fidgeted until she heard the rumbling in the fireplace.

She gulped and steeled herself against seeing him again.

Her family and Vanessa gathered around the fireplace to greet their guests. Sylvie was introduced to Mr. and Mrs. Potter first, then James gave her a big hug and a smile, and then, there he was.

He hugged her in the same manner as James, but then he surprised her my kissing her on the cheek. She didn't think anyone noticed, but he held the hug for too long, and whispered in her ear, "Merry Christmas, Silvery."

She pulled away gently. "Merry Christmas, Sirius," she said, smiling. She really was glad he was there. If nothing else, Christmas would be worlds more entertaining with James and Sirius around.

"You look ravishing, my dear," he said with a lascivious grin.

She rolled her eyes and they both followed James, Vanessa, and Remus into Remus' room, where the coats were being kept for the night and closed the door behind them.

Sylvie and Vanessa sat upon the bed, Remus, James, and Sirius in various chairs in the room.

"Shall we reveal our Christmas present, Padfoot?" James said to Sirius.

"Yes, I think we shall," he replied. He pulled out a bottle filled with amber liquid from inside his jacket. "And this was no pleasantry to carry through the Floo system either."

Remus laughed. "Is that Firewhiskey?"

"Right you are, Moony," Sirius said.

"You two are insane," Sylvie said in awe.

"Oh, Sylvie, you know you love us," James said. Sylvie blushed despite herself.

"Shall we crack it open then? Moony, would you like to do the honors?" Sirius said, handing the bottle to Remus, who smirked and took it, then opened it effortlessly by pulling out the cork, managing not to spill a drop.

Vanessa and Sylvie exchanged quick glances. "Where did you learn to do that?" Vanessa asked incredulously.

Remus shrugged and handed the bottle back to Sirius. "Last summer at James'," he said simply.

Sylvie shook her head, laughing. She'd secretly always wanted to try firewhiskey. _Leave it to James and Sirius_, she thought.

"Where did you two even get this?" she asked.

"We have our ways, little one," James said slyly. Sylvie rolled her eyes. "So who's first?" he asked, looking around the room.

"Sylvie," Sirius said instantaneously.

"Why me?" she cried indignantly.

"Because you've never had firewhiskey before," he said simple, grinning at her with the grin that made her want to both kiss him and slap him.

"Neither has Vanessa," she said mock-snidely, folding her arms and looking only at Sirius.

"I have," Vanessa chimed in. Sylvie whipped her head around to look at her.

"_When?_" she said.

"My older brother let me try some the summer before last. It wasn't a lot, though," Vanessa said, somewhat apologetically. Her brother had graduated Hogwarts a year before Vanessa's first year and now worked in London for Gringotts.

"Well now I just feel embarrassed," Sylvie said, blushing slightly.

Sirius thought she looked simply adorable, and frankly hoped for a moment or two alone with her during his stay. He had his reservations now, but once he had a little firewhiskey in him…well, he knew himself well.

"Don't be, Sylvie, it'll just be more entertaining for the rest of us," James said, grinning broadly.

Sylvie gave him a look. "What about our parents?"

"Once my parents get into the red wine, no one will be bothering us, believe me," James laughed.

"You know, if you're scared, Sylvie, you could just watch us," Sirius said, raising the bottle to his own mouth.

"Give it to me," she said quickly, reaching for the bottle.

"Gladly," he said pointedly, looking deep into her eyes as he got up to hand it to her. Sylvie suddenly felt out of breath when she took the bottle from him.

Everyone else in the room experienced an uncomfortable moment. Remus decided that Sirius was pushing it a bit and kicked him in the shin.

"Fuck, Moony!" Sirius said.

"Let her drink," Remus said sternly. Sirius smirked and went back over to his seat. He'd deserved that.

"Relax, mate, it's Christmas," he mumbled.

Remus dropped his scowl. The prospects of his friends being here, Christmas, and firewhiskey were all so exciting that it was difficult for him to be unnerved by Sirius' obvious flirting with his sister.

"Go on, Sylvie," James said to Sylvie, who'd been looking bemusedly from her brother to Sirius and back. "Start it off."

"Alright…a toast?" she asked. They all nodded. Sylvie stood up and held the bottle in front of her dramatically. "To friendship," she waved the bottle around emphatically at her friends, who all laughed. "To Vanessa, for trekking here all the way from Surrey to grace us with her presence, thanks Vanessa, and to Remus, for…being Remus." she smiled at her brother. "To me, for slaving over baked goods, which happen to be delicious, for the better part of two days—"

"You're toasting yourself? Can you even do that in a toast?" James said.

"It's _my_ toast," she said simply, turning to him and Sirius. "And lastly, to James and Sirius, you handsome devils--" she looked only at Sirius and grinned. "--for procuring this lovely beverage. Cheers!"

As juvenile as it was, Sirius felt a rush in his chest when Sylvie called him handsome. He knew he was, and he also knew that she was joking, but she'd been looking right at him.

He'd also noticed the gradual ebbing of her self-consciousness and timidity as she grew older; the Sylvie he saw now, brandishing a bottle of firewhiskey and spouting off quips in front of everyone, was so unlike the Sylvie he met on the Hogwarts Express nearly five years ago. And her newfound confidence made him love her more than ever.

While everyone was in fits of laughter, Sylvie gulped and prepared herself to take a swig from the bottle.

"Well, go on, the rest of us would like some tonight too!" James cried.

"Alright, alright, don't have a stroke, James," Sylvie said. She noticed Sirius was looking at her with his head cocked and an unreadable expression on his face. As she raised to the bottle to her lips, she thought, _This is going to be an interesting night._

She only meant to take a tiny sip, but for some strange reason, she wanted to impress Sirius, to make him think she wasn't a little girl anymore. She knew this was ridiculous, but it entered her mind nonetheless. She tilted the bottle up like she'd seen in movies and the drink came out of the bottle faster than she thought, giving her about three times the amount that she'd wanted. It burned her throat the minute it hit it, and she began to sputter, her hand on her chest.

Remus and Sirius instantly stood up to see if she was alright, and Sirius took the bottle from her hand for fear of her spilling it or dropping it. After only a moment, though, she had gotten the drink down. The warm after-effect was quite pleasant, although part of this was feeling the whiskey go straight to her head. She felt warm and courageous, if not a bit fuzzy. She sat down on the bed next to Vanessa and gazed at Sirius.

Sirius was impressed my her ability to down that much firewhiskey on her first try, but he could also see that she was a total lightweight and that she was already feeling the effects of the drink. This thought both scared and amused him.

Once everyone else had taken a small swig, Remus carefully stowed the bottle under his bed and they all went out to mingle with the adults and enjoy Christmas in general.

---

It was no surprise that not long after dinner, Sirius and Sylvie were off by themselves. They sat by the small fireplace in the Lupins' living room.

"I feel like we haven't had a rational, non-dramatic conversation in a long time, Sirius," Sylvie said to him.

"You're right, we haven't," he replied. "Do we even know how to do that?"

Sylvie laughed. "Of course we do, we _are _friends, aren't we?" Sylvie said.

_And so much more_, Sirius thought. "Yes, Sylvie, I believe we are," he said.

"So what's been going on with you lately?" she asked. "How's your…family?" Sylvie knew that this was a sore spot for Sirius, as his family was largely pure-blood centric, something of which he was deeply ashamed. She regretted asking him as soon as she saw the expression on his face darken substantially.

"Well, I don't actually live with them anymore," he said matter-of-factly, even though Sylvie could tell that he was more upset about it than he let on.

"What happened?" she asked tentatively.

Sirius looked into her kind eyes and was compelled to divulge his story. "My mother was pulling her usual shit, you know, comparing me to Regulus, talking about how he's so much more the exemplary son because he's in Slytherin and follows their bollocks ideals about pure-blood and everything, and naturally, she rounded on me and told me exactly _why _I'm the opposite of Regulus," Sirius said, feeling himself getting angrier by the second as he spoke.

Sylvie could see right through his tough façade to the pain this caused him beneath the surface. She felt compelled to reach out to him in some way, and she grasped his hand.

"Oh my God, that's awful, Sirius. I'm so sorry," Sylvie said. He was touched by the genuine sincerity in her voice when she spoke to him, and her touch soothed him greatly.

He continued. "So then, I just left. I packed some of my things and left, I'd had enough. My parents were enraged, naturally." He paused to reflect upon this thought, and he imagined his mother blasting his name off of their ridiculous family tapestry. "All the more doting they can do upon little Regulus," he added with tangible bitterness. Sylvie squeezed his hand gently.

"So, now I reside with the Potters," Sirius said, looking across the room at Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin, James, Remus and Vanessa having a discussion about their favorite Quidditch teams. Apparently Vanessa and James supported the rival team of Mr. Lupin, Mr. Potter and Remus. The discussion seemed about to break into an argument.

"They're so nice," Sylvie said. "I'm happy that you don't have to live with those people anymore, Sirius. You deserve so much better."

"Thanks, Silvery," he said. It took all of his manliness not to tear up a bit, he was so touched by Sylvie's words. He wished more than anything that he could kiss her right then and there. "I just…I just can't shake the resentment I feel," he said. "I just feel like living there so long, in such a contradictory environment, has made me a little mad, you know?"

Sylvie nodded knowingly. He continued. "I'm always afraid that it's somehow rubbed off on me in a bad way, all that pure-blood centricity, and that it's going to come out someday. It really…well…it bloody scares me, to be honest," he said. He realized that he was telling Sylvie things right now that he probably wouldn't even tell James. Was it the firewhiskey?

"Sirius, you're a good person. And you can't choose your family, but you can choose your friends, and, if I do say so myself, you've chosen great ones. Don't let your past haunt you, because you've already transcended it," Sylvie said resolutely. She hated to see Sirius so worried over something, especially since it seemed like he never worried about anything.

He looked at her incredulously. "You're really amazing, Sylvie, do you know that?"

"Yes, in fact, I do, Sirius," she said, smirking. "So if I may ask, when did all of this happen?"

"About a week ago," he replied.

"Does Remus know?" she asked.

"Yes, of course, I wrote him."

Sylvie nodded. They were silent for a few moments. "So, is anything new with you?" Sirius asked.

Sylvie thought for a moment. "Well, yes, there is in fact. I made an interesting discovery yesterday, but you can't tell anyone, not even James, under any circumstances," she said. She also felt very open under the influence of firewhiskey.

"Well, now I'm definitely intrigued," Sirius said. "I won't tell a soul, I promise."

"Alright…well…I walked in on Remus and Vanessa kissing in Remus' bedroom. Apparently they've been secretly going out for over a year!"

Sirius laughed openly.

"What? That isn't intriguing?" Sylvie said, disappointed with his reaction.

"Not in the least, I knew about it already," he said simply.

"No you didn't! Why does no one tell me _anything!_" she whined.

"Aw, Sylvie, don't worry, they didn't tell me either, I just found out about the same way as you did," he said, trying to comfort her.

She sighed. "I just can't get over it! I'm quite happy about it, though, I wish they'd be more up front about it," she said. "It was a bit unnerving to walk in on them kissing though, I won't lie."

Sirius snorted. "I'll bet that's not all they're doing," he mumbled.

"_Sirius!_" Sylvie hissed. "Why would you say that? And how would you even know?"

"I can just tell," he said matter-of-factly.

"Ugh, as if you're some kind of expert," she said without thinking.

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

Sylvie racked her brain for something else to talk about. She thought about Sirius and Catherine together and it irked her severely.

"How about we round up the others and have a little more firewhiskey before dessert?" she asked.

Sirius smirked at her. "You'd better take it easy with that stuff, kid, you're going to get yourself in trouble."

"Oh, really?" she said, standing up and putting her hands on her hips. "The good or bad kind of trouble?"

Sirius stood up as well, perhaps a little to close to her. "That depends wholly on you, Silvery," he said in a low voice.

For the first time in her life, Sylvie felt like she needed a drink. "Well, there goes the rationality," she mumbled to herself.

They all gathered in Remus' room once more, and this time they were all much less fearful with the size of the swigs they took this time. By the time they were finished with the round, about two thirds of the bottle was gone.

If she felt the firewhiskey before, Sylvie felt it worlds more now. She felt wonderful and courageous, like she could do anything in the world. Her head felt fuzzy and her body felt warm.

And she wouldn't move from Sirius' side. She didn't know what it was; possibly just the firewhiskey, maybe a little bit of a protective feeling after she'd heard him tell her about his family. She'd seen his weakness and vulnerability at that point, and something about it made her not want to leave him alone.

Sirius noticed this, and he couldn't be happier about it. He loved having Sylvie close to him.

The thing about firewhiskey was, that when everyone was drinking it, it was easier to slip things by them.

James had been right about his parents and the red wine, and Mr. and Mrs. Lupin were the same. They were far too occupied by talking to each other and eating dessert to notice anything was amiss with the children.

So many unexplainable, amusing things happened when they all emerged from Remus' room. Most of the events were fuzzy to her, but she distinctly remembered that the official party was declared over when James for some inexplicable reason threw a tart at Vanessa and Remus retaliated by flinging half of a cookie back at him, hitting him squarely on the forehead, all while Vanessa laughed uncontrollably with tart in her hair. James' parents had at some point wished their son a good night and thanked the Lupins most graciously, and taken the fireplace home, and Mr. and Mrs. Lupin had gone to bed.

Sometime after this, and neither party would ever know exactly how this happened, but Sylvie and Sirius found each other alone together near the end of the night.

Sirius and Sylvie were sitting again by the fireplace, only now the embers were burning low, leaving the room much dimmer than before.

"Sirius…I…I honestly find it hard to speak to you sometimes," Sylvie slurred.

Sirius laughed a bit. He hadn't realized until now just how far gone Sylvie really was, although he was not much better.

"And why is that, Silvery?" he asked in his raspy voice.

"Well…I don't know exactly…" she said slowly. She was looking at him like she never had before. He had to go to her.

He sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders. She leaned against him and gazed into the fire.

"I think it might have something to do with our little encounter the other week," she said. She'd been too afraid to bring it up when she was (relatively) sober.

He nodded and looked at her. She continued to stare at the dying fire. Then, she turned her head to face him.

"This is so wrong, Sirius," she whispered.

He felt a bit dazed. "What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean," she said breathily. "I have a boyfriend, and you have a girlfriend, and…and…oh, I don't even know anymore. It doesn't feel wrong, but I know it is."

"I know how you feel," he sighed.

"Sirius, I've been thinking a lot…a whole lot," she said. Somewhere, the sober part of her mind was screaming at her to just shut her mouth and go to bed, but she disregarded it. "And after much careful consideration, I think we need to talk about something."

He snorted again. He couldn't help but notice how adorable she was, and he began to grow excited at hearing what she was going to say, because he had an inkling where it was going. "What's that, Sylvie?"

"Well…as much as I care about Callahan Knightley, and as nice as that relationship is, and as good as he is for me, as well suited as we are for each other—"

"I get it," he said shortly, his tone a bit bitter.

"Sorry," she said hastily. "Anyway, I feel like…well…I'll just be blunt, because I'm drunk and I don't know how else to put this. Callahan Knightley has never kissed me the way you have, and I don't think he will ever be able to, because he's Callahan Knightley and not _Sirius Black_."

She said his name in a whisper, and she pronounced it emphatically, like it were some kind of secret she was relaying to him, and him alone. For the first time in a long time, Sirius Black was speechless.

Sylvie continued. "I've also been thinking about what you said to me that night, about…about…Catherine. Do you know what I'm talking about?"

"Yes," Sirius said huskily. He and Sylvie were very close now.

"Well…did you…did you mean it? All of it?"

"Yes. Every single word, I mean with all of my heart." He had never said anything more genuine, firewhiskey or not.

"Well…I'll put it this way. I've been thinking about leaving Callahan." For the second time, the sober part of her brain was begging her to stop talking, but she ignored it yet again. "I've been thinking about that a lot, honestly, because I think it's time for me to…take responsibility of things. He's just not _Sirius Black_."

Sirius' mouth was hanging open. He could not believe that Sylvie was saying exactly what he'd wanted to hear for over a year.

"Sylvie, I…if you did that, then we could finally…"

"Be together, yes. Remus will just have to deal with it," she whispered. They were so close, she could see the dark scruff growing in along his jaw-line. Without even sparing a thought, she reached up and stroked it with the backs of her fingers. "Sirius…"

"Yes…" He breathed.

"Oh, God…" Sylvie said as she tilted her head up and kissed him. He responded immediately and put his hands on her back, crushing her up against him. Her hands were entangled in his hair.

He pulled her up so that she was straddling his lap and let his hands wander down to her thighs and back up to her waist. His sense of honor would not allow him to do anything more while she was drunk.

After a while, however, Sirius felt himself become more aroused than ever before. He knew they needed to stop before he was unable to control himself.

He took his lips from hers and lightly kissed her neck. "Sylvie," he whispered in her ear. "I feel like we should check on the others…"

"Why?" she whispered back.

"Because I don't want them to walk in on this, and I don't want your brother to kill me."

Sylvie put her hands on his chest to steady herself and surveyed him. "That might be a good idea," she said, nodding.

Sirius grinned at her as he lifted her easily and gently off of his lap. She stood up and stumbled slightly before regaining her balance.

Sirius didn't feel the extent of his drunkenness until he stood, but when he did, it was as if the majority of the alcohol he'd consumed rushed straight to his head, and he had a little trouble standing as well.

Once he regained his balance, he put his arm around Sylvie's shoulders and guided her out of the living room and down the hall to her and Remus' bedrooms.

When they reached Remus' door, Sirius opened it very carefully and peered through. He snorted at what he saw.

"What's going on?" Sylvie hissed. "Let me see, Sirius!"

"Shh, be careful. Come here," he said. She was small enough to duck under him and peer through the cracked door.

Remus and Vanessa were both passed out on Remus' bed, while James was passed out on the floor next to what looked like a wizard's chess board with chess pieces scattered everywhere.

Sylvie covered her mouth to stifle her laughter. She ducked out from under Sirius, then started to pull him into her own room. He managed to shut the door carefully and quietly before relenting to Sylvie's tugs.

"Sylvie…" he said. He wasn't protesting, but Sylvie's room to him was like some kind of forbidden ground.

When they entered, Sylvie went right into her chest-of drawers to pull out a t-shirt and pajama pants. "Turn around, I have to change," she said to Sirius, who was watching her curiously.

Shaken by the prospect of Sylvie not wearing anything in his presence, he needed to shake his head to clear his mind of thoughts in which he was definitely not turning around as Sylvie took her clothes off.

He turned his back to her regardless and surveyed the rest of her room. The walls were a soft lavender color, as was the carpeting, and her furniture was made of whitewashed wood. There were several framed pictures on her dresser; to his excitement, on of them was a picture of Sylvie, James, and Remus, and himself taken outside of her house. He deduced that it must have been the summer before Sylvie's fourth year, the summer he'd first kissed her.

"Ok, I'm done now," Sylvie said as she put her red dress and tights into her laundry bin. Sirius marveled that even when she was two-sheets-to-the-wind drunk, she was the neatest person he knew.

Sirius took off his shoes and sat down upon the mattress on the floor, originally put there for Vanessa, he assumed, and Sylvie got into her own bed.

"Sirius…" she said.

"Yes?"

"I feel silly…" she said, looking away. She swayed a bit where she sat.

"You don't have to feel silly around me, Sylvie. What is it?" he said softly.

"Can you…would you mind sleeping up here with me?" she said in a small voice.

Sirius sighed. He wanted to, but he felt wrong about it. "Sylvie…"

"Obviously we're not going to _do _anything, I just…I just really want to be…near you," she said.

The look on her face was so genuine and imploring that he couldn't even consider saying no to her. He nodded and then climbed into the bed next to her. She immediately cuddled in next to him and laid her head on his chest and he put his arm around her small form, which seemed even smaller now.

"Thank you," she said softly.

He took a deep breath. Everything in the room smelled like her, including the bed linens. "Believe me, you don't need to thank me, Sylvie," he mumbled. He suddenly felt very tired.

"Merry Christmas, Sirius," she whispered, looking up at him. She kissed his cheek.

"Merry Christmas, Silvery," he said.

Sylvie was asleep in mere minutes after that, it seemed, and he fell asleep himself watching and feeling the rhythms of her breathing against his body.


	10. Questions and Answers

**Questions and Answers**

Remus woke early the next morning with his head in throbbing pain and the smell of treacle tart coming from somewhere near him. He couldn't think of why until he looked to his left and saw Vanessa sprawled out next to him on his bed. There was still some tart in her hair.

He sat up and looked around his room. James was not sleeping on one of the two mattresses laid out on the floor, but in a corner of the room, curled up next to a wizard's chess board with the pieces scattered about.

_Why? _Remus asked himself. For the life of him, he couldn't remember.

And wasn't Vanessa supposed to be in Sylvie's room? He and she hadn't…had they? No, they couldn't have, they were both fully clothed and James was there.

_And where was Sirius?_

"Oh, no," he said to himself in horror.

He got up from the bed slowly, and Vanessa was awoken in the process. "Remus?" she said groggily. "Where…where are you going?" She got up and followed him.

"I'm going to see where Sirius is," he said with his teeth gritted. "And if he's where I think he is, he's going to have problems."

Vanessa put two and two together. "Oh, no. Remus…"

"Sh," he said as he opened Sylvie's door slowly. He braced himself for the worst.

And sure enough, there he was. Fast asleep with his arm around Sylvie. Snoring.

Vanessa was speechless. She, however, noticed that both parties had clothes on, and the sheets weren't messy; it was as if they'd just crawled into bed. They must not have moved the whole night. Something about the scene was endearing to her.

The same, unfortunately, could not be said for Remus.

"_What the fuck!" _Remus said loudly.

Both Sylvie and Sirius' heads shot up. The color drained from Sirius' face as soon as he realized where he was and saw the look on Remus' face.

He got out of the bed slowly, with his hands up as if in surrender, and stood. Sylvie cowered behind him.

"Moony, stay calm," Sirius said tentatively.

"Really, Sirius? Really?" Remus was so angry he could barely string together a sentence. "In my _house_? My _sister_?" He rounded on Sirius in frightening way.

"Remus…" Sirius said again. He had never seen his friend this angry before. "This can be explained…nothing happened…"

"You know what Sirius? I cannot even deal with you right now. Just go...go stand outside," Remus said, pointing to the door.

"But…what do you mean? In the living room?" Sirius said, confused.

"No, I mean out-fucking-side. I want you out of my house," Remus said loudly.

"But…but…it's December…there's snow on the ground!" Sirius said. Despite his size, he couldn't help but shrink under Remus' glare.

"You'll live," Remus said, still pointing to the door. "Now!"

Sirius glanced at Sylvie behind him, who was still cowering. She looked up at him and nodded her head ever-so-slightly. Then, he decided that it was in his best interest to do what Remus said at the moment.

Remus waited until Sirius has left the room and he heard the back door open and close to address Sylvie. He simply glared at her.

"Remus…nothing happened," Sylvie said.

"Nothing happened, my arse," he said.

"Honestly! We were both fully clothed! And look at my bed sheets! They're not even messed up—"

"Ugh, I don't even want to think about that. What was he doing in here?" Remus asked.

"Well…" Sylvie began, trying to remember the events of the night before. "James had thrown something at Vanessa…treacle tart! Vanessa, you've still got some in your hair…" She couldn't stifle the laugh.

"I have? Oh my God," Vanessa said, also laughing.

"Go on, Sylvie," Remus growled.

"Alright, alright…then…I don't remember how, but Sirius and I were talking in the living room after everyone else disappeared…" She blushed as the memories of exactly what they'd done there came back to her.

"Yeah, _talking_, right," Remus said. "That _bastard_."

Then, Sylvie vaguely remembered the course their conversation had taken. "Oh, no!" she exclaimed.

"What?" Vanessa and Remus said simultaneously.

Sylvie stuttered, trying to make something up, but at that moment, James entered the room.

"What's going on? Why was there yelling? And why did you guys leave me alone in Moony's room? It was weird…I woke up with this really strong urge to play chess…" he said groggily.

Remus, Sylvie, and Vanessa temporarily forgot their conversation. James' hair, which was normally messy, now redefined the very word messy. On his forehead, there was a small bruise, probably from the cookie flung at him by Remus, and on his cheek there was a very well defined imprint of a castle chess piece.

"Oh, James," Sylvie said, bursting into laughter along with Vanessa.

"Why are you laughing?" he said, smiling bemusedly. "I could really use some water…"

"Well, let's get you some," Sylvie said. Eager to avoid the situation with Remus, she stepped forward and guided James out of her bedroom, followed by Remus, who still looked murderous, and Vanessa, who was finding the situation increasingly hilarious.

"Why does Moony look like he wants to kill someone?" James asked, looking back at his friend.

"We were just talking about that," Remus growled, looking pointedly at his sister, who got a glass from a cabinet in the kitchen and filled up a glass from the sink faucet before handing it to James, who thanked her and downed the glass in one sitting.

"Well…" she said, thinking to choose her words carefully. "After that, we decided to go to bed, and we looked into your room, and you had Vanessa in the bed with you, and James was passed out on the floor, and we just…went into my room, and…went to sleep," Sylvie concluded innocently, omitting key details.

"Ok…" Remus said. "But you're wearing pajamas right now, and you weren't last night…"

"He turned around when I changed," Sylvie said, blushing furiously.

"Oh my God…wow…I don't even know how to deal with this," Remus said as he began to pace.

"So wait…" James said, looking slowly from Remus to Sylvie. "Padfoot slept with Sylvie last night?" He snorted, which quickly turned into laughter, which was then quickly stifled when he was the look on Remus' face.

"We didn't _sleep_ together!" Sylvie shrieked. "We were drunk and tired! And who are you to be in such a tizzy, Remus? You had Vanessa in your bed all night!"

"That's different, Sylvie, we're _going out_! You have a bloody boyfriend, for God's sake!" Remus said in a very frustrated tone.

"Hold on..." James said, putting his hands up and stepping in between Remus and Sylvie. "Moony…you and _Garrett_?"

"God damn it, Remus!" Vanessa said.

James laughed even harder. "Wow, this is all just too fantastic," he said, helping himself to some cookies that were left out on the table. All were silent and tense as James chewed thoughtfully.

Suddenly, James cocked his head, as if something had just occurred to him. "Where _is _Padfoot?" He looked around and before anyone could say a word, he saw Sirius looking in on the scene through the window in the back door.

"What…why is he…?" James asked confusedly, looking from Remus to Sirius's face in the window.

"I told him to go out there," Remus said simply.

"Should I…should we…?" James asked, gesturing to the door. Behind the window, Sirius nodded vigorously.

"No, no, just leave him for now…" Remus said dismissively, rounding on Sylvie again. Sirius threw up his hands in frustration and paced away for a few moments, but then resumed watching in on the scene. "So what are you going to do about your boyfriend, then, genius?"

Sylvie straightened up. "That's none of your business, Remus," she said coolly. "If I were you, I would just grow up a bit and stop being such a hypocrite."

"I am not a hypocrite!" he yelped indignantly.

"Yes you are! I'm not ten years old, Remus! At some point, you have to accept that!" Sylvie said exasperatedly.

"What…that's…that's not the point at all…" Remus sputtered, even though he knew his sister was right.

"It's absolutely the point, and I'm not going to deal with your issues anymore," Sylvie said sternly. "And Sirius is really _not _as bad as you make him out to be," she added, although she was not entirely convinced by her own statement.

Remus sighed and sat down in a chair, massaging his head with his hands. "You know what?" he said. "Fine. I give up. From now on, I will not warn you about anything, but I will also not sympathize with you when it blows up in your face. Do as you please."

Sylvie rolled her eyes and got her brother a glass of water. When she reached him at the table, she handed him the glass and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Remus, it must have been a bad shock for you," she said soothingly, looking at him with her large, soft eyes.

Remus looked at her and shook his head. It was impossible to stay angry with her. "It's alright, Sylvie. I guess I overreacted a bit," he said.

They jumped when they heard a knock on the door. "Can I come in now?" Sirius yelled, his voice muffled by the door. "It's bloody freezing out here! I'm not even wearing shoes!"

James looked at Remus, who glanced at Sirius' face in the window, sighed, and then nodded. James then went to the door and opened it, smirking the whole way.

"Thanks, mate," Sirius said to James, who was trying hard to conceal his laughter. Even though he was shivering, Sirius went straight to the kitchen table and sat down across from Remus.

"Remus," he said, as though he'd planned something to say during his time outside.

"Really, mate, you don't have to say anything," Remus said, looking from Sirius to Sylvie and shaking his head. "I've decided to just let it go. You two are mature adults—" Vanessa snorted at this. "—and you can work this mess out on your own. I'm in the process of erasing what I saw this morning from my memory."

Sirius looked extremely confused. This was not nearly what he'd been expecting from what he'd seen from the window. "Well…er…then I'll just say this. It was…out of line…and I'm sorry." He held out his hand for Remus to shake, and Remus rolled his eyes, but shook hands with his friend. "We're alright?" he asked tentatively.

"Yes, Sirius, we're alright," Remus said begrudgingly, but with a small smirk.

After a moment of silent reflection, Sirius spoke again after glancing at Vanessa. "Why does Garrett have tart in her hair?"

Vanessa's hands flew up to her hair. Sylvie, who had busied herself with putting some water in the teapot to heat up for Sirius, and James burst out into laughter. Even Remus cracked a smile. "Oh, shut up, all of you!" Vanessa cried, running to the bathroom.

After a few minutes, Vanessa was back (tart-free), and the teapot whistled merrily. Sylvie poured it into a mug and plopped in a bag, then set it down in front of Sirius at the table.

"What's this for?" he asked, looking up at her.

She shook her head, an incredulous expression upon her face. "You're an idiot," she said wryly as she walked back over to the counter. Sirius' eyes followed her, albeit cautiously, and he smiled at the vague memories of the night before as he sipped his tea, which was extremely pleasant as he'd just been standing shoeless in snow for longer than he'd cared for.

"Anyone else for tea?" Sylvie asked. There was a general murmur of assent. She took down four mugs and filled them each with how water.

Sylvie brought over the mugs in pairs and sat down in the chair next to Sirius. They glanced at each other knowingly. Sylvie felt her stomach drop as she remembered the conversation of the night before. It had been so easy to say then, when Sirius had his arm around her, and she was drunk, of course. She knew she'd been telling the truth, but all of her anxieties had returned today. Sirius stroked the back of Sylvie's hand lightly with the backs of his fingers under the table. Surprisingly, the gesture soothed her to some extent.

"Well, this is nice," James said. "Isn't it nice, to have everything out on the table and in the open now?"

He caught Sylvie's eye, and she shook her head sharply. "Not the time," she mouthed to him.

James nodded, understanding. "Wait…" James said as Sylvie prepared the tea. All eyes were upon him as he sat at the table, his face screwed up in concentration. "None of you buggers would play chess with me last night!" he said. Everyone looked at him incredulously. "And…" he raised a hand to his forehead and felt his bruise. "Moony…you threw a cookie at me! It hit me in the head! Why did you do that?"

"I threw a cookie at you?" Remus said. "I thought you just bumped your head on something when you were tearing apart the chess board."

"No, I distinctly remember being hit with a flying cookie," James said matter-of-factly.

"What amazes me, James," Vanessa said, "is that you managed to set up the whole chess board properly for a game, at least before you threw a tantrum because no one would play with you."

James had a satisfied look upon his face. "I'm just that great, I suppose."

---

James and Sirius left the next morning. Sylvie was actually saddened to say goodbye to Sirius, but she felt a sense of peace in that she now had a plan.

Sylvie's New Year's resolution for 1977 was to be true to her heart, regardless of the consequences. She gave herself to the end of the school year to sort out and come to terms with her feelings for Sirius, and her relationship with Callahan.

**AN: This chapter is shorter because I was originally going to have it be part of the next chapter (which I think will be quite long), but I decided to post it now because I enjoyed writing it so much, and I hope you reviewers liked Remus' reaction! The next chapter will be a very crucial and exciting one, and, like I said, on the longer side, so it might take me longer to write, but bear with me because I don't think you'll be disappointed. Thanks for reading!**


	11. Bad Decisions Result in Whiplash

**Bad Decisions Result in Whiplash**

Sylvie Lupin was a bad liar. A horrible, atrocious liar. And Callahan Knightley knew this.

He could tell she was different as soon as he saw her when they got back from Christmas break. He was extremely intelligent and perceptive; she didn't hold his embrace for long, and she barely even kissed him.

"Did you like your present?" he'd asked her, to which she replied a nonchalant "Oh, yes, Cal, it was gorgeous." She wasn't even wearing the expensive bracelet he (along with his older sister Grace) had painstakingly picked out for her.

He tried to make excuses for her, tried to convince himself that her behavior was different for one reason or other, but this was a poor practice for him. He knew something was wrong, and yet he found himself with lockjaw every time he tried to ask her.

At times, he could even swear that she was avoiding him, spending less time in the common room and no longer attending Quidditch practices.

One upside to Sylvie's attitude, however, was that she seemed to be avoiding Black as well as Callahan. This gave him some comfort, as he was still paranoid when it came to Sylvie's feelings for Black.

All of these feelings he was having, Callahan realized, were indicative of how much he really cared for the girl. He was even beginning to feel that he loved her, despite the way she'd been acting lately. This revelation both elated and unnerved him. He'd never loved a girl before, of that he was sure. But it also made Sylvie's new attitude much more of a disturbance to him; he began to think that she was considering breaking up with him.

It was this notion that baffled him; he simply did not know how to deal with it. He had never exactly been broken up with before. In fact, he was quite used to getting more attention from girls than he really even cared for, especially since he'd been made Quidditch Captain, and surprisingly since he'd been dating Sylvie.

Part of the reason he would not confront her was that he refused to act so needy; he was Head Boy and Quidditch Captain, and he was not going to let a girl, regardless of the girl in question, make him feel that way. He wouldn't nag her; if she wanted to tell him what was wrong, she could tell him. He'd be there.

---

Sirius found himself three weeks after Christmas break in the common room, with Sylvie nowhere to be found, as had become the norm lately. It was as if she were avoiding both him and Knightley. He didn't know what to make of her behavior; they hadn't had another opportunity to speak alone before he and James had left the Lupins', and she certainly had not given him the chance to speak to her in the past three weeks.

He was getting impatient. She'd been drunk when she'd said what she did about breaking up with Knightley, but wasn't alcohol the proverbial truth serum? He had to believe this. They'd shared a bed, for God's sake!

Catherine, on the other hand, had begun to grate on his nerves as of late. She seemed to sense his growing indifference, and it made her even more clingy. Never one to put up with something he didn't like, Sirius began to plan on how to break up with her. Maybe this would give Sylvie some incentive to get on it.

Sirius found the perfect opportunity after one of the classes he'd had with Catherine. She'd caught up with him afterwards.

"What the hell is the matter with you lately, Sirius?" she'd asked. He winced.

"Catherine, we…need to talk," he said, looking at her.

She narrowed her eyes, but nodded.

"I respect you too much to mince words, so I'm just going to say it straight; I don't think this is working anymore," he said levelly, bracing himself for what he believed would be a messy situation.

But Catherine just looked at him incredulously and shook her head. After a few awkward moments, she shocked him; she shrugged and actually laughed a bit.

"Oh well. Ben Post asked me out a few days ago anyway," she said matter-of-factly.

"Wait…what?" Sirius said, confused.

"Yeah, he did. I was actually planning on telling you soon, but you just made things loads easier," she said.

"Ben Post? You'd rather go out with _Ben Post _than _me_?" he asked in spite of himself. Regardless of his feelings, he still had quite an ego.

Catherine laughed again. "You should see your face, you prat. _You _broke up with _me_, remember?" she said.

"I know but…"

"But you expected me to weep and beg you to stay with me? I don't think you'll find too many respectable girls who'll do that, Sirius," she said smartly.

"No, that is _not _what I expected," he said indignantly.

"Ok, well then, I hope we can stay friends. You're a laugh," she said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, alright," he said. The fact that it had been so easy to break up with her began to set in.

She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. "See you around," she said softly.

"Yeah, see you," he said.

Before she turned to walk away, she added, "And good luck."

"With what?"

"Well, with Sylvie, of course," she said, looking at him incredulously.

"What—what do you mean?" he sputtered, shocked yet again.

"Oh please! You know exactly what I mean. Regardless of your insufferable attempts to convince everyone otherwise, you're not daft. I just hope she feels as strongly about you as you do her," Catherine said wisely. With that and a sad sort of smile, she turned and walked away.

Sirius was left relieved, yet baffled. He realized then that he would probably never understand girls, and that he would stop trying altogether.

---

At dinner that night, Sylvie sat between Vanessa and James, across the table from Sirius. Callahan was absent; he'd needed to speak with a teacher about a test or something, Sylvie hadn't really been paying attention when he'd told her. She carefully avoided Sirius' eye contact, as she had still not decided how to go about dealing with the situation involving Sirius and Callahan.

Everyone else chattered happily around her. She joined in at times hollowly, but she couldn't carry on with the general conversation.

"Sirius," Vanessa said, which snapped Sylvie out of her reverie. "Is that Catherine over there, snogging Ben Post?"

"What?" Sirius spun around to look for his ex-girlfriend. "_Really_?" he said exasperatedly. She could've at least waited a day or two.

"Well, are you going over there?" James asked, bewildered.

Sirius shrugged. "No, I actually broke up with Catherine today," he said nonchalantly.

Sylvie, who had just taken a bite of bread, choked and sputtered conspicuously. They all turned their eyes to her, none of them questioning her reaction. Vanessa, panicking, patted her on the back just a bit to hard.

"Ow!" Sylvie snapped once she was able to breathe again. "Why do people think that helps?" she pondered.

"Sorry," Vanessa said.

"Well, it seems like she's really missing you, Padfoot!" James chortled, until Sirius kicked his shin under the table.

Sirius looked at Sylvie, determined to figure out what she was thinking. He caught her eye. Did she seem happy at this news? No, he figured. She just looked sick.

"Are you alright, Sylvie?" he asked, staring at her just a little too intensely, which didn't go unnoticed by her.

"What? Oh, I'm fine," she said, flustered. "I think I'll be going. I've got some…Potions homework to finish." With that, she was off.

Sirius made to get up and go after her, but Vanessa stopped him.

"If you go after her," she snapped, catching his attention. "I'll kill you."

Sirius paused, and then thought better of it and sat back down to stab moodily at the food his plate.

"Give her time," Vanessa said so that only he could hear. She almost pitied him at this point.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he snapped viciously at her.

'_Almost' being the key word_, Vanessa thought.

---

Sylvie could tell that Sirius was getting antsy. She was shocked that he'd broken up with Catherine, and it had made her even more panicky on her way back to the common room.

She wasn't paying attention to where she was walking, which proved never to be to her advantage. She crashed head on into all six feet four inches of her boyfriend.

"Sylvie!" he exclaimed. "Are you alright?" He bent down to pick up the books she'd dropped.

She noticed that he was with Mark Langley and another of his seventh year friends, Ryan Redding. "Hi Mark, Ryan!" she said brightly. She'd always found it amusing how different Callahan's friends were than him; she got on well with both Langley and Redding, who, while not quite on the same level as Sirius and James, always made her laugh.

Both boys greeted her in a friendly manner. "Have you got your head somewhere else, Sylvie?" Langley said, smirking at her.

She made a face at him. "No, Mark, I've just got a lot of work to do. O.W.L.'s this year, you know,"

All three boys groaned at the memory of their wizarding tests.

"Well, I'll just be going then," Sylvie said, now anxious to get away before Callahan could say anything more to her. "See you later, boys!"

"Alright," Callahan said, bewildered once again by her sheepish attitude.

He shook his head as he walked on with his friends.

"What's up with her lately?" Langley asked.

Callahan shook his head. "I have no idea. She's been really strange lately…" he started. Then, he realized that this was not something that he wanted to talk about with his friends. "She's probably just nervous about her exams, or something," he said finitely.

Langley and Redding exchanged a look behind Callahan's back, but knew better than to push the issue.

---

As another two weeks wore on, Sirius grew even more impatient. He knew now that Sylvie was avoiding him; she was impossible to find alone, and he never had the chance to see her. Given her overly studious nature, she was in all likelihood completely engrossed in her O.W.L. studies, which could also explain her nervous attitude.

But he knew her too well to leave it at that.

His mind was full while sitting in the common room one afternoon when James came storming in, apparently enraged.

"Padfoot, have you heard about what Snivellus and his band of merry Slytherins have done now?" he asked.

The mention of "Snivellus" snapped Sirius back to attention. Peter, who was sitting nearby, drew closer to listen as well. "No, what?" Sirius asked.

"You know that third year Beater, Benson?" James, who dropped into a seat next to Sirius, said, referencing the Gryffindor Quidditch team's newest Beater.

"Of course, Prongs, on with it!" Sirius said, now very interested, given that the conversation now involved the Gryffindor Quidditch team _and_ Slytherins.

"Well, our friend Snivellus and Mulciber and I believe Avery cornered him," James said.

"What!?" both Peter and Sirius exclaimed. "What happened?" Sirius asked.

"It was last night," James said. "Benson doesn't remember exactly what happened…well, he doesn't remember much of anything, actually. It's like a permanent Confundus Charm. Madam Pomfrey's been trying to get him better all day. She said it's lifting gradually, but it'll take about a week for him to be fully better again."

Sirius was livid. The gears in his head were turning, automatically thinking of revenge. It was one thing to try to mess with him and James Remus, and even Peter, but a third year? He remembered when they'd attacked Sylvie in her first year…he was almost as angry now. Benson was not only an excellent Beater, but an extremely likeable boy who'd never done wrong by anyone. The injustice of it made Sirius seethe.

"When did you find this out?" Peter asked.

"Just now, ran into Knightley in the corridor. He'd just been to see Benson, he reckons we're going to have to find a new Beater for the match this weekend," James said bitterly.

The mention of Knightley and the fact that they were out a very good Beater pushed Sirius over the edge.

"Where's Moony?" he said, the gears still turning.

"It's a full moon tonight, Padfoot, remember?" James said. They'd cancelled their adventure for this month due to the approaching match.

An idea dawned on Sirius. "Right, right," he said, standing.

"Where are you going?" James and Peter asked.

"I need to go for a walk," Sirius said as he left the room.

He had something to tell Snape.

"Something really bad is going to happen," James said as he watched his friend leave. Peter nodded enthusiastically, secretly excited for whatever havoc Sirius was going to wreak.

As he walked purposefully through the corridor, Sirius heard someone call his name. He turned and saw Knightley walking towards him.

"Black," Knightley said. "Have you heard about—"

"Benson, yeah, James just told me," he said shortly. Things between him and Knightley had been very cold, but civil, since break.

Knightley shook his head, looking grim. "Well, we'll need to have new Beater trials sometime this week, I'll let you know the details as soon as I figure them out," he said.

"Right," Sirius said, nodding curtly, and began to walk away, not wanting to spend more time than necessary in Knightley's presence.

"And Black," Knightley said. He had hesitated to ask this, but at this point, he needed to know. He swallowed and asked, "You have no idea how much I hate to ask _you_ this, but Sylvie…"

Sirius stiffened at Callahan's mention of Sylvie. He narrowed his eyes but said nothing.

"…she just seems…strange lately. I wanted to know if you knew anything, if she'd said anything to you…you know," Knightley continued, clearing his throat awkwardly.

In his current murderous mood, Sirius thought about telling Knightley exactly what Sylvie had said to him on Christmas Eve, but he held back for her sake.

"No, Knightley, she hasn't said a word to me. You should keep better tabs on her, she's _your _girlfriend, isn't she?" he spat bitterly, turning on his heel and walking away before he lost control.

Knightley's nerve had driven him into further depths of rage.

He thought about the facts:

1. There would be a full-grown werewolf in the Shrieking Shack tonight.

2. He knew how to get to the passageway that led to the Shrieking Shack

3. Severus Snape desperately wanted to know where Remus Lupin went for several days every month.

The pieces fell together perfectly in his mind. He thought of nothing but revenge; it burned his insides like hot coals.

He shortly found his mark: Snape, with some Slytherin friends, walking in the corridor.

"Oi!" he barked at them. They froze as he grew nearer. The looks on their faces grew cautious when they saw Sirius' demeanor.

"A word, Snape?" he demanded.

Snape looked from side to side at his friends and nodded. They left, but Sirius was smart: he knew full well that they would be waiting just around the corner in case he tried anything.

"So, have a good time roughing up the third year?" Sirius asked in a low, vicious voice.

Snape, who was considerably shorter than Sirius, sneered. "He had it coming," he said.

It was all Sirius could do to keep from punching him. No. He needed to remain calm for his plan to work. "No matter. Gryffindor'll still level Slytherin in the match this weekend, even with a new Beater."

Snape rolled his eyes. "What do you want, Black?"

Sirius smirked. "Well, I've actually got a proposition for you," he said smoothly.

"And what's that?" Snape asked icily.

"I happen to know that you're always sticking your large nose around, trying to find out where my good friend Remus goes every month," Sirius began, glaring down at Snape. "And I'm going to give you a clue."

He paused dramatically, making sure he had Snape's full attention. "I assume you're familiar with the Whomping Willow?"

"What do you think, Black?" Snape spat.

"Just checking, you _are _a Slytherin," Sirius said snidely. "Anyway, what you need to do is find a long stick and prod the knot in the Whomping Willow's trunk. This will freeze the tree, and open a door in the trunk, leading to a passageway. You need to follow the passageway all the way to the end tonight around midnight, and there you will find your answer."

They stared at each other in stiff silence for a few moments.

"How do I know you're not full of it?" Snape sneered.

Sirius shrugged nonchalantly. "You don't. Best of luck, Snivelly," he said as he turned and walked away, knowing that he had piqued Snape's interest enough to know that his plan would work. There was a spring in his step as he walked back to the common room, giving no thought to the consequences of what he'd just done.

---

"I just can't believe that," Sylvie said as she sat with Callahan in the common room. It was late at night; about a ten minutes to midnight. The population was starting to dwindle as people went off to bed. "A third year! That's just disgusting!"

He'd just told her about Benson's injury. Callahan just shook his head sadly.

Sylvie had broken her habit of avoiding him when she'd seen how distressed he was. She understood when he told her why; she knew how much hard work he'd put into the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He'd been telling her since after the initial tryouts that he felt this was the year they were going to have a perfect record. She hadn't entirely cared, but she'd understood his enthrallment with the sport, as she'd been friends with James and Sirius long enough, and had grown up wither father and brother obsessing over the professional sport. She could only imagine how rough this kind of thing must be on him, especially with the amount of stress he was under with Head Boy duties and N.E.W.T. level classes.

"I'm sure you'll be able to find someone in time for the match," she said, looking up at him and stroking his arm comfortingly.

He looked at her pretty face and was grateful to have her there. At least such a tragic event had brought her closer to him again.

"I hope so," he said as he gazed into her eyes and touched her face with his hand. She smiled softly.

On the other side of the common room, Sirius was yet again livid. He was watching the exchange between Sylvie and Knightley. _He _was just as distraught as Knightley. Why wasn't she fawning all over _him_?

"Padfoot?" James said cautiously. "Ok, you need to stop staring at them like that, it's getting a bit creepy."

Sirius turned his glare on James, who recoiled.

James thought it best to try to distract his fixated, bitter friend. "You never told me what you did to get revenge on the Slytherins," he said quickly.

It worked. "How did you know that's what I did?" Sirius asked.

"Come _on_, mate! I think after six years of dealing with your antics I know you pretty well," James said exasperatedly.

Sirius snorted. "You're going to love this," he said quietly. Peter leaned in, eager to hear the story. "Know how Snivelly is always snooping around, trying to find out where Moony disappears to every month? Well, I told him about the passageway. He'll be going in right about…now, actually. That'll show him where to stick his greasy nose," Sirius said triumphantly. Peter let out a laugh.

Sirius had not accounted for the horrified, color-drained look on James' face. "You _what_?!" he hissed.

Sirius looked bewildered. "What…Prongs, what's your…?"

But James was already on his feet. "I need to get my Invisibility cloak," he was saying. Sirius and Peter followed him into the boy's dormitory.

"Prongs, what are you on about?" Sirius asked as they reached the stairs.

James spun around to face his friend. "Sirius," he began with gritted teeth. "You've done a lot of really fucking stupid things, but this _by far _is the winner."

"I figured you'd find it hilarious," Sirius said, still bewildered by his friend's reaction.

"Yeah, it's hysterical. Not only have you given away Moony's secret, but you've basically committed murder," James said as he went into his trunk ans grabbed the cloak. "How do you think Moony'll feel when he wakes up tomorrow and realizes he's killed someone?"

Sirius shook his head. What had he done? "I…I wasn't thinking straight," he said.

"When do you _ever_ think straight, Padfoot?" James said exasperatedly.

"Well…where are you going?" Sirius asked.

"Where the fuck do you think? To keep Snape from getting to Moony before it's too late."

"Well, I'm coming with you," Sirius said resolutely.

"Fine. Peter, you stay here," James said. Peter nodded; he was glad to stay away from the danger.

James made it to the passageway, and to Snape, quickly enough to save Snape's life, but unfortunately, not quick enough to keep Snape from seeing the werewolf.

The three boys were met at the Whomping Willow on their way out, to their utter and complete horror, by none other than Professor Dumbledore himself.

The look on Dumbledore's face was more frightening than anything Sirius had ever seen. He'd taken them all to his office. Sirius had, of course, come forward and confessed to what he'd done. He'd never felt worse about anything in his entire life.

Dumbledore had made Snape swear not to say a word about Remus' condition to anyone in the school or he would be expelled.

"But…" Snape had protested. "He's a danger to the other students!"

"I assure you, Mr. Snape, that all the necessary precautions have been taken to protect the students, and no one is in danger," Dumbledore said with a knowing glance at James and Sirius.

Snape had relented, and Dumbledore had escorted the boys back to their respective common rooms after a sound verbal lashing to Sirius about what he'd done. Ultimately, Sirius had received three weeks of detention every night. He felt he deserved it.

The common room was empty by the time they returned. James had maintained a steely silence between the two of them.

"Prongs…" Sirius had begun.

"No," James said shortly. "Just…don't talk to me right now. Let me sleep on it."

Sirius nodded, and kept silent for the rest of the night.

---

The next day, James was still a bit unnerved, but mostly back to his old self.

"I think we should go visit Remus in the hospital wing," Sirius suggested to him, given his better mood.

James nodded. "I think that would be good idea," he said, and off they went, Peter in tow.

Sirius felt a wave of guilt crash over him when he saw Remus, pale and bruised and scratched up, in the hospital wing. Sylvie would usually go to bring him whatever homework he'd missed, but thankfully, she wasn't there; the books on the side table told him that she'd already been there.

"'Lo, men," Remus said weakly as his friends walked into the room.

"How do you feel, Moony?" James asked.

"How do you think I feel, idiot?" Remus replied, smiling nonetheless. James snorted.

Remus turned his attention to Sirius, whom he noticed seemed very edgy.

"What's wrong, Padfoot?" he asked.

Sirius took a deep breath. "Well, I've got some bad news, Moony. I did a really…stupid…thing yesterday…"

Sirius explained everything to Remus, then braced himself for the reaction.

"I swear to God, Sirius…" Remus said through gritted teeth. "If I had any strength right now, I would literally throttle you."

"I'm so sorry, mate," Sirius said feebly. "I just…wasn't thinking straight, I was so angry…"

"That is no excuse, and you know it," Remus said. "I'm thankful Dumbledore caught you; now at least we know Snape won't be blabbing about it, he wouldn't risk getting expelled."

"Yeah, that's right," Sirius said. His friend was taking this much better than he thought he would have. "And I got three weeks of detention for it."

"You deserve to be in detention for the rest of the year," Remus hissed.

Sirius shook his head. "Are we still friends?" he asked stupidly. He felt as though he'd been apologizing to Remus a lot lately, and he worried that his friend wasn't going to take much more.

Remus looked at him incredulously. "You are literally the most idiotic person I know! Who asks a question like that, honestly?" he said.

Peter and James snorted.

"Alright, alright, I get it," Sirius mumbled, relieved.

"Yeah, I think that after catching you in bed with my little sister in my house on Christmas and staying friends with you, I can withstand almost anything," Remus said, smirking.

Sirius' stomach dropped at the mention of Sylvie, but he didn't say anything.

"And speaking of Sylvie," Remus continued. "If you'd like to keep all of your appendages, I think it'd be best not to tell her about this."

Sirius and James nodded vigorously. They knew how sensitive Sylvie was about Remus' condition.

At that moment, Madam Pomfrey came in and shooed the three boys out, claiming that Remus needed his rest.

"See you tomorrow," Remus said.

---

"Happy Valentine's Day," Callahan mumbled in Sylvie's ear the next morning.

"What?" she said. "It's Valentine's Day?"

Callahan snorted. "You forgot?" he said. "Now that's sad."

Sylvie rolled her eyes. "O.W.L. preparation has officially taken over my life," she said. It was true, and the only person who didn't see this as completely mad, early in the year as it was, was Callahan, as he'd been the same way.

"Well, I got you a gift anyway," Callahan said, handing her a box wrapped in red paper.

"Cal! You didn't have to…" she said

"Just open it," he said.

It was a gold necklace with a pendant shaped like a cursive "S" hanging from it.

"Cal, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed. She wasn't lying; it must have been very expensive.

"Do you want me to put it on you?" he offered.

Sylvie's hand flew to her neck. She realized she was still wearing Sirius' star necklace, and she suddenly felt reluctant to take it off.

"Er—not right now, Cal, I don't want to ruin it," she said evasively.

Callahan looked puzzled for a moment. Sylvie seized the opportunity.

She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips. "Cal, it's absolutely gorgeous and I love it. Thank you," she said softly.

"It's nothing at all, Sylvie," he said in a low voice. She grinned.

He glanced at the clock on the wall and realized the time. "Oh, it's late…I have to rush to a meeting with the faculty…" he said. "I'm sorry,"

"It's fine, Cal," she said sweetly. "Go, I don't want you to be late."

He grinned and kissed her before grabbing his bag and dashing out of the common room.

She went up to her room to stow the necklace, which she really did like. She began to feel guilty accepting the gift, though, as she'd been thinking of breaking up with Callahan for almost two months now. She would have to give it back to him.

She sighed and went back down to the common room, where she found James.

"Hi, James," she said brightly.

"'Lo, Sylvie," he said. He felt slightly nervous being around Sylvie, as he felt awful lying to her, and he felt as though he were lying by omission by not telling her what Sirius had done.

"I'm sorry about Benson," she said to him. She noticed immediately that he was acting strangely.

"Yeah, it's a shame," James said.

"Cal said you're having tryouts tonight?" she said conversationally.

"Yeah, we are. Interested?" he said, laughing nervously.

Sylvie looked at him, puzzled. The joke was definitely like James, but not nervous tone. "James, what's the matter?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" he barked. "Nothing's the matter. Everything's peachy."

"Peachy? Come on, James, what's happened?" she said skeptically. She looked around and realized Sirius was absent. "And where's Sirius?"

"Detention in the trophy room," James blurted out.

Sylvie raised her eyebrows. "Ha," she laughed. "What did he do now? I'm surprised you're not there with him, don't you two usually work together?" she asked.

"Er…well…I don't actually know what he did," James said lamely.

Sylvie narrowed her eyes. She could definitely tell that there was something James was trying to keep from her. "You don't know what he did? That's rubbish, James, you two are practically married," she said sternly. "Why can't you just tell me what he did? Does it have to do with me?" she asked. She was doubtful of this; she had just seen Callahan and he was perfectly intact, so it couldn't be that.

"N-not exactly," James said, looking away from her piercing stare.

"What do you mean 'not exactly?'" she asked. "James, really, this is getting annoying."

"I-I can't tell you," he said, regretting it as soon as he said it.

"What do you mean you can't tell me?" she hissed. "Well, now you have to!"

"It…it would only upset you, and you really don't need the stress right now, what with your O.W.L.'s and everything…"

"Don't tell me what I need!" she snapped. "James, what happened? What did he do?"

She looked at him with such an imploring expression that he simply couldn't bear to lie to her anymore. He sighed, defeated. "Well, he was really, really, _really_ upset about the incident with the Slytherins and Benson, and rightfully so…"

"Yes, and?" Sylvie pressed.

"So he went and found Sniv—I mean Snape, and…told him something that would put him in great danger if he chose to take Sirius' information seriously…" James continued.

Sylvie glared at him. "James…last night was the full moon. This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with Remus, would it?" she asked in a clipped tone, gritting her teeth.

James gulped. "Well…now that you mention it…Snape…er…_did _take Sirius seriously, and he…ended up…at the end of the tunnel…to the Shrieking Shack…"

Sylvie was on her feet. She felt rage like never before course through her veins. She was going to wring Sirius Black's neck. She could feel tears coming, but she held them back. "And he saw…?"

"Yes," James said feebly, looking down. "But we went and got him before anything bad happened. And Dumbledore told him that if he told anyone, he would be expelled!" he said, trying desperately to remedy the situation. He stood up as well.

"That _wanker_!" Sylvie hissed. "Trophy room, did you say?" she said as she walked quickly from the common room and into the corridor.

"Oh, no, Sylvie! He was so angry, and he wanted revenge…"

"Don't defend him, James!" she said as they walked. "You can't go revealing someone's deepest, darkest secret to your worst enemy, and you can't go endangering lives just because you're _angry _and you want _revenge_. That's…it's just…" She made a frustrated noise in her throat.

James could never before honestly say that he was afraid of Sylvie, but now he was having second thoughts. His stomach dropped as they entered the corridor on which the trophy room was located. Sirius walked out of the room carrying a bucket of rags as they approached.

He froze when he saw Sylvie. The look on her face made him take a step back. He looked to James, but James had averted his eyes. Sirius felt the color drain from his face.

"Sylvie!" he exclaimed, trying to maintain normalcy. "Er…Happy Valentine's Day," he said, apprehensively walking closer to her, unwisely attempting a hug.

Without warning, she pulled her hand back and smacked him with all her might.

It hadn't hurt him much, but Sirius recoiled nonetheless. "What—" he began.

"Oh, don't even try to play dumb," she said to him, positively seething with rage. "How _could _you? He's your _best friend_, Sirius! People are _not _your personal playthings!"

"Sylvie, I—the Slytherins—" he sputtered. "I was so _angry_…"

"So you decide to retaliate with the most hurtful thing you could possibly do to Remus?" she hissed.

"I—it was really stupid, but at the time it seemed—funny…" he said. James groaned from behind Sylvie.

She narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Funny?"

She launched herself at him, punching, slapping and scratching any inch of him she could find.

James decided that this would be a good time to intervene. He tried to pull Sylvie away, but she was surprisingly strong for her size. He ended up having to actually pick her up and sling her over his shoulder in order to restrain her.

"James, put me down!" she screeched.

"Sylvie, you've got to calm down," James said to her. He looked at Sirius apologetically and Sirius glared back at him; despite the situation, he didn't like James, or anyone, holding Sylvie like that.

She took a few deep breaths and collected herself. She hadn't realized that she'd started crying. "Alright, I'm fine, put me down," she said in as even a voice as she could manage.

Feeling that she was sincere, James let her down carefully.

She first straightened out her robes and brushed herself off. Then, without warning, she swiftly and effectively punched Sirius straight in the nose, feeling something snap under her fist. The pain in her hand didn't register.

Sirius swore loudly and clutched at his face as his nose began to bleed, but Sylvie was already ready to leave.

"I don't want to speak to you, or even _see _you, ever again, Sirius Black," she said viciously, the tears pouring now. "To _think_ that I was _stupid _enough to believe you're better than everyone says you are…that you'd changed…that I was thinking of…" she was cut off by a sob.

Feeling the necklace he'd given her so long ago around her neck, she grabbed the chain and broke it off of her neck. "And you can take this piece of junk back to the pawn shop where you got it, I don't want it anymore," she added acidly, throwing the necklace at his feet.

With that, she stormed off in the direction of Gryffindor tower.

Sirius bent to pick up the necklace, feeling a strange emptiness inside of him.

He could barely feel the pain in his bleeding nose. It was nothing compared to what he felt about what he'd done to Sylvie and Remus.

"We should get to the hospital wing," James said apprehensively.

"No," Sirius said. He pointed his wand at his nose and muttered, "_Episkey_."

"Mate, I'm sorry, she just…got it out of me…she's hard to lie to," James said quickly.

But Sirius knew that he'd had this coming. He couldn't blame James. He'd let his reckless temper get the best of him.

And now Sylvie hated him.

"She…she broke my nose," Sirius said, feeling his newly mended nose, which was still tender.

"Blimey," James said in awe. "She is unnaturally strong."

"Yeah," Sirius said, still awed. "And by the way, if you ever pick her up like that again, I'll break _your _nose," he added threateningly.

"I was just trying to help," James muttered. "Well, we'd better get to a bathroom, your face is covered with blood, and I don't think you want people to know you've been beaten up by someone who weighs about 100 pounds."

"She didn't _beat me up_, Prongs," he said, glad to have James there to distract him from the searing pain in his heart that he felt as he clutched Sylvie's necklace. He slipped it into his pocket discreetly; he would hold on to it for her. "She's a girl. I obviously wasn't going to fight back."

"Well, it amazes me that someone as tiny as her is capable of breaking anyone's nose," James said. "It just doesn't seem to add up…"

"Alright, that's enough," Sirius said.

They passed two fourth year girls on their way to the bathroom, whom they recognized as Gryffindors. One of them gasped upon seeing Sirius' face.

"Sirius!" she uttered shrilly. "What's happened to you?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. Ever since it had gotten around that he was no longer with Catherine, girls had been flitting about him all over the place. All the girls except the one he wanted…

"Trophy cleaning accident," he mumbled, not bothering to stop and chat.

When he had splashed water on his face, Sirius felt a lot of pent up energy. "It's a nice day outside, fancy a fly?" he asked James.

James had been expecting close to a meltdown from his temperamental friend. He guessed that Sirius was keeping a lot of his feelings in, and knew better then to push him.

"Sounds great, Padfoot," he said, grinning.

---

Sylvie had never been more devastated. She still felt full of rage, and paced her dormitory, which was empty due to the nice weather.

Tears continued to pour down her face as she flopped down onto her bed. She couldn't sit still for long, however, and ultimately she decided to visit Remus in the hospital wing, where she was sure Vanessa was as well.

She wiped her eyes as she left.

The furthest person from her mind was who she passed in the hallway.

"Sylvie!" Callahan called in his deep voice. She turned back to him. He looked so handsome then, for some reason. She knew he really cared about her, and she suddenly needed to be near him. She ran to him and threw herself into his arms.

"What's the matter?" he asked her, as she was visibly upset.

"Cal, I need to talk to you…" she said.

"Of course, Sylvie," he said, bewildered, holding onto her elbows lightly to steady her. He could see she'd been crying.

She looks up at him pointedly. "Somewhere private?" she asked in a quiet whisper.

Callahan looked at her, surveyed her, tried to figure out what she was thinking. As usual, he couldn't, but he noticed that he had never seen her look the way she did now. "There won't be anyone in the common room now, it's too nice out. Come on," he said.

When they reached the common room and saw that it was empty, Sylvie's mind was still racing. The sting was still fresh from what Sirius had done.

She and Callahan sat on a couch together. She looked into his eyes; at the moment, they were all she could see, although her mind did wander.

She thought again of the viciousness of Sirius' actions; she realized that Callahan would not, probably could not ever do a thing like that to her, or to anyone. He was so mature, so strong, he towered over her, even when they were sitting. She thought of Sirius again, tried to push him from her mind, but failed. Tears came to her eyes.

"What's the matter, Sylvie?" Cal said with genuine concern, pushing some hair away from her face. His deep voice was soothing and resonant. She leaned forward and threw her arms around his neck. Despite herself, she began to sob.

"Cal, the m-most horrible thing h-happened…" she choked out.

Callahan held her closer. "Sylvie, what is it?" he said softly into her ear. It broke his heart to see her this way; it made him think again of how much he actually cared about her.

"I c-can't tell you about it, I just c-can't…"

"Why not?" he asked patiently.

"B-because it's not my knowledge to sh-share," she said softly, her tears abating slightly while he held her. His large arms were very comforting to her.

She pulled away to look at him. "Cal, you really are wonderful to me," she said. Her bottom lip began to quiver again. "So much more wonderful than I deserve…"

"Sylvie, that's not true. There are honestly times when I wonder what I did to deserve you," he said in an attempt to be comforting. He was telling the truth, after all.

Sylvie began to sob openly again. "I'm s-sorry, Cal, you must think I'm completely mad!" she said between sobs as she drew herself close to him again.

"You're not mad, Sylvie, you've just…had a bad day," Callahan said calmly, racking his brain for comforting things to say. He really wasn't good with this kind of thing.

After a few minutes, Sylvie calmed down a great deal. She wiped her eyes with her hand, but she still looked immensely sad.

Callahan stared at her with his piercing blue eyes.

He knew deep down that the first person he thought of when Sylvie said something horrible had happened was Black. No matter how he tried, he could not put the memory of what Black had said and done almost a year and a half ago out of his mind. He was thankful that he wasn't there to witness Black's drunken rant, for fear that he would have been expelled on the grounds of the beating Black would have sustained. It took a great deal to make him truly angry, but he thought that the sight of anyone purposely hurting Sylvie Lupin would get him there. The thought of Black anywhere near Sylvie made his blood boil, but he hid it well; his positions as Quidditch Captain and Head Boy were too important to him. He got along with Black for the sake of the Quidditch team, as Black was a very fair Chaser.

But Callahan knew Sylvie well enough now to know that trying to force information out of her was impossible; she was a terrible liar, but if she didn't want to talk about something, she might as well be a wall of stone. He exhaled. He thought of the night when she came back through the portrait hole with Black, about how she'd lied about crying (he knew this, or course), and about her constant changes in attitude. He was definitely not stupid, and he'd seen that there was something between them.

But did she want Black more than she wanted him? Whenever he saw them together, he knew there was chemistry that somehow transcended friendship, no matter what Sylvie said. And he did not trust Black for anything at all, not for one second.

But how much did he trust Sylvie? He felt his heartbeat quicken when he thought of Black kissing her, even more so when Black had been in the hospital wing and Sylvie had refused to leave his side. He remembered how angry he was upon leaving her there; he'd hid it very well from her, kept himself composed long enough to get away. After that, he'd flat out punched a wall just like he'd punched Black's stupid sodding face…

He felt a pang of irritation: Hadn't her behavior then in the hospital wing been enough reason for suspicion? Friends, they were friends…but the chemistry! It was unbearable.

But then he looked at her face. She was so damned pretty. And he knew that she was truly good, regardless of anything the may or may not have done. And she was still his girlfriend, wasn't she? She was free to leave him whenever she liked, but she hadn't, had she?

He wanted to think her incapable of wronging him; his innermost instincts told him she was not, but he was strong-willed. He only wanted her to be the girl he asked out so long ago.

"Sylvie," he said in a low, soft voice. "Can you smile for me?" It was more of a spoken thought than an actual request. He cupped a side of her face in his large hand.

She leaned against his hand. Something about the way he said it was very un-Callahan-like. His hand on her face felt cool and comforting. She gave a small grin.

She looked so pretty to him when she smiled. He hated to think that he was so far wrapped around her finger, but he knew that all she had to do was smile, and he would cease to be angry with her.

He leaned forward and kissed her quite fervently. The ill will towards Black, and his inner suspicions and insecurities still lingered, but he felt that the more he kissed her, the further away those feelings would go.

She wrapped her arms around his neck again and drew herself as close to him as possible. His hands were on his waist.

But it wasn't enough. They'd done this many times before, but Sylvie wanted more. They had been dating for over almost a year and a half now, what was she holding back for? Where was she going to find anyone as great, as _worthy_, as Callahan Knightley? Who was she saving it for?

An answer she knew all too well. But that was impossible now. That was _never _going to happen.

And she couldn't deny that it felt very nice to be pressed up against Callahan like she was. He was so strong, but so gentle at the same time. She began to feel dizzy after a while, and she wanted his hands on places other than her waist, where they'd always politely remained.

She broke the kiss and uncharacteristically, Callahan began to kiss her neck. He was unusually fervent in his actions today. Just like _he'd _always been. _No, Sylvie, stop it stop it stop it…_

"I-I've been thinking, Cal, about a lot of things…" she whispered in his ear.

"What do you mean?" he said huskily and he pulled away slightly to look at her. He didn't take his hands off of her waist, not even for a moment.

"I think…I think I'm ready."

Callahan stared at her in somewhat disbelief. He couldn't believe that she'd said the thing he'd been wanting her to say for so long. Could he finally let up with his nobility, just a bit?

He though back to his own sexual experiences. He'd been with two girls before: the first was a girl he'd grown up living near; they were young and had just wanted to see what it would be like. That was the summer before his fifth year…he wasn't much younger than Sylvie was now at that point. He surveyed her impossibly beautiful face…she looked young. She'd turned sixteen last November. Why did that seem so much younger than his eighteen years? He thought of his second time…it had been with the girl he'd been dating before Sylvie; they had mutually broken up the summer before his sixth year.

He couldn't help but feel a but nervous…She looked so beautiful, if he had his way, he would have her right then and there. But he had to be sure that this was what she wanted; it was her first time, after all.

"Sylvie," he said softly, looking into her soft hazel eyes. "Are you absolutely sure? This is--"

"Yes, Cal, yes, I'm sure," she whispered.

Before he could say another word, she tilted her head up and kissed him. He wasn't entirely convinced by her words, and deep in his mind he sensed something was amiss, but her kiss was too consuming to allow him to think of anything else. He moved his hands down to her waist again and pulled her even closer; he'd never felt like he did at that moment. He always felt as though Sylvie was holding something back from him, but not now. He felt that she was finally giving her whole self to him, and he had never been so aroused.

After a few minutes, he remembered where they were. "Sylvie," he said between kisses. "Do you want to go up to my bedroom?"

"Yes, let's," she said softly. He nodded and took her by the hand. The seventh year boy's dormitory was at the very top of the tower. Callahan let Sylvie go up before him, and he watched her as she ascended the steps above him. He couldn't help but notice her figure; to him, she was very nearly perfect. His excitement grew as they climbed the stairs.

When they reached the dormitory, Callahan led Sylvie to his bed, which was neatly made, of course. As soon as they sat down, Sylvie began to kiss him again. Without breaking the kiss, Callahan closed the hangings around the bed. He gently leaned over her and continued to kiss her. They broke apart for a few moments to survey each other. As Sylvie looked up at Callahan, she saw in his eyes that he really cared for her, that this was something that he really wanted. His blue eyes had never been this piercing, his shoulders never this broad, he had never seemed this much _bigger _than her. She felt immensely _safe _here in his bed with his weight on top of her.

_Safe from _him.

She trusted him Callahan and she knew he wouldn't wrong her. She only wished she could say the same for herself. _No, _she though. _Cal is good for you, Sylvie, and it took you this long to realize it. Stop thinking about that git, especially at a time like this. How dare you?_

"Sylvie," Callahan said in his deep voice, the voice that now made something in Sylvie's stomach jump. He nuzzled her neck a bit, and she felt that this was a very pleasant place to be. She began to want him, and not just as a distraction.

"Are you absolutely sure you want this?" he said into her ear.

She arched her back to get closer to him, then looked into his eyes, which were burning.

"Yes, Cal," she breathed. Without further hesitation, he kissed her deeply and they became even closer still.

_Make me forget him, Cal…_

---

It felt like hours, but also like minutes later when they were done. Sylvie was lying with her head on Callahan's broad chest. He had his arm around her shoulders and was stroking her soft skin with his fingers. He kissed the top of her head and she tilted her head up so that he could softly kiss her lips. She thought about what they had just done, and a small smile played upon her lips.

"How do you feel?" he asked her.

She sighed. "Older," she said softly. "Is that strange?" She looked up at him.

He grinned. "No, I suppose not. I guess it's quite natural to feel that way, it's how I felt," he said thoughtfully.

"How old were you at the time?" she asked tentatively.

"Fifteen. It was the summer before my fifth year," he said.

"Fifteen! My God, Cal!" she said in a mockingly appalled voice.

He laughed. "I was only about six months younger than you are now!" he said defensively. "Now _I_ feel old."

"Was that the only time you'd done it?" she asked, flushing once she realized the immaturity of her question.

"No, there was one girl other than that whom I dated during my fifth year," he said.

"Well no wonder it seemed like you knew what you were doing," she said, giggling and cuddling closer to him.

He kissed her again, the looked at her for what seemed like a long time. He enjoyed how it felt to have her lying on his chest. He wanted to say something, but his stiff-upper-lip nature made it difficult for him to get it out. "Sylvie…I…" he paused.

"Yes?" she said softly.

"I…think I love you," he said.

Sylvie was severely taken aback. Was Callahan Knightley blushing? More importantly, did she love him too? She felt very nervous and immensely guilty all of a sudden, and the last person of whom she wanted to think entered her mind. Was it possible to love two people? She thought of how wonderful Callahan was to her, about how secure he'd made her feel during her first time, about how he made her feel in general. Through his eyes, she was perfect.

She decided that it was possible. "I think I love you, too, Cal," she whispered. He kissed her.

They lay in silence, reluctant to move, for an amount of time that was indefinable to them. Sylvie's mind began to drift…_What if it were _him_? _she wondered. _What if _he _were here instead of Cal? _Sylvie hated herself for thinking these thoughts, but now they wouldn't go away. She began to feel uncomfortable. She knew she'd done nothing wrong, but she felt uneasy nonetheless, especially since Sirius would not leave her mind.

"Cal, do you think we should, you know, get moving? People might start coming back inside, I don't know what time it is," she said quietly.

"Yes, I suppose we should," he said. He was too beside himself to notice any change in her demeanor now.

They dressed in silence. Sylvie watched Callahan put on his shirt; despite herself, she realized that she had never noticed before how very well-built he was, with his broad shoulders and muscled arms, presumably from rigorous Quidditch training as a Chaser. She looked away and grinned to herself, feeling quite giddy, until she pictured what Sirius might look like without a shirt on in comparison; he was definitely leaner, but just as well-built, wasn't he?

_Shut up, Sylvie_, she told herself. _You don't care about that._

As they left the dormitory and descended the stairs, she noticed the new fluidity in the way they moved together. It was as if they knew each other worlds better now. Callahan had let her walk in front of him again, and held her hand as they went down the stairs.

"Do you fancy some food now?" Callahan said.

"Yes, that would be quite good," she responded, turning back to grin at him. They'd reached a landing. Sylvie barely registered the voices coming towards them up the stairs.

"Well, that's fantastic, because I've worked up quite an appetite," he grinned, moving closer to her and grabbing her bottom.

"Cal!" Sylvie exclaimed and hit him playfully in the arm. She winced when she realized that her hand was still extremely sore from punching Sirius. When she turned around, she thought she would die from shock.

Sirius and James were standing at the door to their dormitory, both with looks upon their faces that mirrored how Sylvie felt. She was rooted to the spot, and she couldn't look away from Sirius. She could almost hear the gears turning in his head as he registered what he was seeing, and what he had just seen.

Callahan cleared his throat awkwardly. "Black, Potter," he said in and oddly formal voice, nodding to them. He put his hands on Sylvie's shoulders and gently tried to steer her away from the scene.

She felt Callahan's touch, and she remembered how awful Sirius was and exactly why she thought so, but it didn't quite register. She gently shook out from under Callahan's grasp and caught Sirius' eye while she walked by him; everything seemed to move in slow motion while they held each other's gaze.

She knew that everything, _everything,_ between her and Sirius had been changed by the events of the past two days, and everything they felt about each other had been leveled and turned upside down. She was trying desperately to convince herself not to care about the hurt in his eyes, knowing that he had no right to feel in any way upset, as Callahan was her boyfriend, and was _not_ an enormous tosser, but something deep in her heart that was far beyond any logical thought wouldn't allow her to completely write him off. Her expression hardened the tiniest bit as she shook her head slightly and broke their gaze, burying that thought deep inside herself, refusing to confront it. She held her head high and grabbed Callahan's hand as they descended.

Callahan, regardless of how disgusted with himself he was for it, felt that running into Black was the icing on top of the whole experience. He couldn't resist lightly stroking the place on Sylvie's back that he now knew was extremely ticklish, which made her giggle and yelp. After this, he turned back to look at Black with a triumphant smirk that was so unlike his normal self, and to his great satisfaction, Black was staring daggers at him. Immensely satisfied, Callahan continued with Sylvie down the stairs.

None of this went unnoticed by Sirius, who was experiencing a distinct feeling of whiplash from his and Sylvie's silent but powerful exchange. He unconsciously started to go after them, but James held him back and pulled him into the dormitory. "No, Padfoot, don't even think about it, he's Head Boy," James said sternly.

He steeled himself against the torrent of rage he knew was about to come out of his friend.


	12. The Aftermath

**The Aftermath**

_He steeled himself against the torrent of rage he knew was about to come out of his friend._

But Sirius was beyond that. He realized, despite his rage, that he had no one to blame but himself, even if Knightley was the world's biggest…there wasn't even a name for what Knightley was at this point. He made a mental note to "accidentally" release a Bludger in his direction during the next Quidditch practice, but now wasn't the time.

What he'd done concerning Snape and Remus was extremely stupid. He knew that Sylvie had every right to be enraged with him. She also had every right to do whatever she'd done with Knightley in his bedroom…So didn't he have the right to want to smash in Knightley's stupid smirking face with a Beater's bat?

Sirius kept a stoic expression as he sat down on his bed. He felt numb. Maddeningly, his feelings towards Sylvie would not change. He knew he still loved her. He saw her differently, however. In the moment that he saw her with Knightley, saw him feel her up—In a public space, no less! —he saw Sylvie as a woman, not as the sweet little girl he'd first fallen in love with.

He shook his head.

She was more attractive to him now than ever. He knew this was a ridiculous way to think, but he felt that they were on level ground now, instead of before, when Sylvie was so innocent. Then, he'd almost felt guilty for how he was. Now, he felt they were almost on the same page.

Not to mention that he felt that age-old attraction to the unavailable, now that Sylvie was more deeply involved with Callahan and notably further from him.

It would be a challenge, he was sure, but what was a challenge to Sirius Black? He laughed out loud.

James jerked his head around to look at Sirius. For a horrifying split second, he thought that his friend was openly sobbing, but then he realized that Sirius was laughing.

Sirius noticed James staring. "What?" he said, still grinning.

"You're completely mad," James said in awe. "You've come unhinged, haven't you?"

Sirius snorted. "I don't think so."

James sighed. "I can't believe it. Sylvie just…she just seems so young, still!" He couldn't help feeling that brotherly protectiveness he'd grown for her over the years. Something about seeing she and Callahan in the way they'd just seen them chafed him. Not to mention the fact that earlier today, she'd broken his best friend's nose with her bare fist, a fact that both amused, frightened and somewhat angered him.

And he couldn't ignore his intuition that Sylvie's motives might have been a bit clouded, if only just for that day.

"It's a good thing Moony's not here," he said.

"Yes, yes, it is," Sirius said, and then burst into another fit of laughter.

"You're starting to scare me. I think you've finally lost it, mate," James said incredulously.

"Oh no, I haven't, not yet," Sirius said. "But Moony will when he finds out about what we just saw."

"And how will that happen, Padfoot?" James asked suspiciously, even though he saw where Sirius was going.

"I'm going to tell him," Sirius said plainly, standing up. "Is that bugger still in the hospital wing?"

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" James said.

"How would you feel if it were your sister?" Sirius asked. James paused to consider the fact that Sylvie was as close to a sister as he was going to get, and he couldn't help but feel somewhat indignant, and somewhat violent towards Knightley.

"Yeah, I think he's still in the hospital wing," James said conclusively.

"Fantastic. Let's go," Sirius said.

James was right; Remus was sitting up in his bed in the hospital wing. Vanessa was sitting by his side. It seemed as though they were mid-conversation.

"Typical," James muttered to Sirius, who hardly noticed. The two boys stood at Remus' bedside, as Vanessa was sitting on the bed.

"Hello, mate," Sirius said brightly. Vanessa rolled her eyes.

"Haven't seen you two all day," Remus said, grinning at his two friends. "What have you been up to?"

"Prongs and I went for a fly round the pitch, practiced some new maneuvers for Quidditch, you know," Sirius began, pointedly leaving out Sylvie's attacking him for fear of questions from Vanessa.

"That explains the smell," Vanessa said, smirking. She was paying attention now, but only because she could tell that Sirius and James were up to no good.

"We love you too, Garrett," James said. "Anyway, after that, we went back up to the dormitory to change before dinner…"

"And you will not _believe_ what we saw," Sirius said dramatically.

"It's a good thing you're sitting—well, lying—down, Moony, it really is," James chimed in.

"Yes, yes it is, Moony, because we just saw your little sister, a one Sylvie Lupin, coming down the stairs of the boy's dormitories with Callahan Knightley," Sirius said, feeling a bit of his anger coming back.

Vanessa gasped audibly in spite of herself and the color visibly drained from Remus' face. "She _what_?" he said.

"Well, let's not be presumptive, they could have just been playing a game of Exploding Snap," James said sarcastically.

"Oh, you two are just unbelievable," Vanessa said acidly.

But Sirius and James just looked expectantly at Remus.

His expression changed from shocked to incredulous. He glanced at Vanessa and sat up a little straighter in his bed.

"She's right, you two _are _unbelievable," he said firmly. "And I really didn't need to know what you just told me."

Both Sirius' and James' mouths dropped open. "WHAT?" Sirius exclaimed much too loudly for the hospital wing. "But…but you kicked me out of your house for _sleeping next to her in a bed_, and now you…you…you don't even care?"

Remus shook his head. "I realized that day that Sylvie isn't a little girl anymore, and that it's really unfair for me to try to tell her what to do when it comes to…these things," he said, gritting his teeth in spite of his calm demeanor.

Sirius scowled and shook his head slowly at his friend. "Well, then…I see where I stand. Obviously, I'm still not good enough."

"Oh, _come on_, Padfoot," Remus said. "You know that's not the case. You did, however, do a really awful thing, and I can't say I really blame Sylvie for being angry." He looked at James. "I assume she found out?" Remus asked him.

James nodded. "It was scary. She broke Padfoot's nose with her bare hand," he said tentatively.

Sirius snapped his head around to glare at James. "Cheers, Prongs," he said with sarcastic bite.

"Sorry, mate…" James said, shrinking under Sirius' glare.

Sirius made a disgusted noise. "Well, since everyone here has apparently lost their minds, I'll be going." He turned and began to walk away.

James said his goodbyes and hurried after his friend.

"Maybe we should go to dinner?" James said.

"You go, I'm not hungry," Sirius said. What he wanted at that point was his bed.

"You really should—" James began.

"I said I'm not hungry," Sirius said more firmly. "I'll see you later," he said as he turned down the corridor that led up to Gryffindor tower. He moved through the common room like a ghost, speaking to no one on his way to the dormitory.

He flopped down on his bed as soon as he reached it. He couldn't get Sylvie's last look out of his mind. It both unnerved him and gave him hope, but it also drove him mad not to be able to talk to her, to know that she hated him at the moment, to think about Knightley kissing her, touching her…

He punched his pillow repeatedly. Knightley had gotten to do exactly what Sirius dreamed of many a night, and many a night he'd woken up in a hot sweat, gasping for breath, from those kinds of dreams.

But that look! He knew she still loved him. She and he were now on par, and he had no doubt that they'd be together soon.

She'd probably be awful to him for a while, but he knew she'd come around eventually. He thought of their brief encounters, each one burned into his mind as if it were branded there. The first time they'd kissed by that lake, their late-night meeting in the common room, the classroom after-hours, and of course, Christmas Eve. All of those times, Sylvie had revealed in some way or another that she loved him and wanted him just as much as he loved and wanted her.

He was deeply unnerved when he thought about how far he'd set himself back. It would certainly be a challenge, he knew that much. But he was _Sirius Black_; Sylvie herself had said it.

He did know, however, what the end result would be. And that was what mattered. It was just getting from Point A to Point B that irked him. The gears in his head turned futilely while he lay in his bed.

Once they reached the common room, Sylvie and Callahan could not contain their laughter.

"Why are you laughing, Cal?" she asked curiously.

"No reason," he said quickly, straightening up and becoming more Callahan-like.

Sylvie giggled again, knowing exactly why Callahan had laughed.

"And why are you laughing? I though you'd have bee mortified at running into Potter and Black," he pronounced Sirius' name with the slightest taste of bitterness, which did not go unnoticed by Sylvie.

"No, I'm not. For all they know, we were playing a game of Exploding Snap," she said. Callahan snorted. "But really, the look on Sirius' face was priceless." She said.

Callahan looked at her strangely. "Just him?"

Sylvie realized her slip. She blushed furiously. Callahan caught every hint she let pass and felt himself getting angry.

"I—I'm not speaking to him anymore," she said softly, not looking at Callahan. She felt a wave of pain crash over her as she remembered her feeling of betrayal.

"And why is that?" Callahan said, trying to contain himself. He wanted to scream at her.

"Cal, I really can't tell you," she said painstakingly, still not looking at him.

"Look at me," he said sharply, in his unfamiliar Quidditch-field voice. She snapped her head up to stare at him. "Did Black do something to you?"

"I—I really don't want to—"

"I swear to God, Sylvie, if he did something to you…" he growled.

Sylvie had never seen him this angry before. She was not unnerved by his questions, but she was frightened by his demeanor.

"He—he—"

"…I will _break his bloody neck_…"

Sylvie gasped. "Callahan!" She surveyed him, trying to find something familiar about this seething boy in front of her.

Callahan took a deep breath. He knew he was frightening her, but the thought of Black anywhere near Sylvie made his blood boil. "Sylvie, I'm not an idiot. I see the two of you together and I know you're lying with all of your 'friends' talk," he said slowly, trying to remain calm.

Sylvie gulped.

"And honestly, I don't want to know what's gone on between you, and I don't want to know what's _been _going on between you—"

"Cal, I—" Sylvie began feebly, but Callahan held up a hand to stop her. She shut her mouth abruptly.

"Please just listen, Sylvie. We both know you're a bad liar. As I was saying, I don't care what's been going on, and don't try to tell me 'nothing,' because we both know that's not true, and I can tell when you lie. You're simply awful at it," he continued, shaking his head. Sylvie wanted to melt away. Her face burned.

"And really, as long as he didn't do anything to hurt you, I don't need to know why you're not speaking to him anymore. All I need to know is that whatever it was, it's over now."

They looked at each other for a moment or two. Sylvie burst into tears.

As angry as he was, Callahan hated to see her cry. He enveloped her small frame in his arms, but didn't speak until she did.

"It's over, Cal. Finished. I'm s-so sorry," she sobbed into his chest.

He breathed a sigh of relief, although something in the back of his mind was still raging. He decided to save it for the next Quidditch practice.

"Shh, Sylvie, don't cry. Everything's alright," he said to her softly. Her sobs abated and she gently pulled away from him to straighten herself out and wipe her eyes.

"Do I look a fright?" she asked with a watery grin.

_All she has to do is smile, it turns you into a fool for her_, Callahan thought to himself. He was slightly appalled at her pull over him, but he couldn't help himself. He leaned down and kissed her.

"You look perfect, Sylvie," he said.

"_Really_," she said, shaking her head, but grinning again in spite of herself as they walked towards the Great Hall.

---

On their way back from dinner (where they'd seen James, to whom Sylvie was quite cold as well, for his general involvement in the fiasco; she knew it was unfair, but she couldn't help it), Sylvie had gone to the library to do some work, while Callahan went back to Gryffindor tower to meet Langley to plan the next Quidditch practice and to figure out what exactly to do about the Beater situation.

Part of Callahan hoped to see Black there, but he was nowhere to be found. Callahan went and sat at Langley's table right away.

"Haven't seen you all day, mate," Langley said upon Callahan's arrival.

"I've been busy," Callahan said, smirking slightly.

Langley raised his eyebrows. "Busy, huh?"

Callahan rolled his eyes and didn't say anything.

Langley stared at his friend incredulously. "Come to think of it, I haven't seen Sylvie all day either. You didn't happen to have her up in our dormitory, did you?" he said, mostly in jest.

Callahan stayed silent, but a smirk played upon his mouth.

Langley's mouth fell open. "You did?" he exclaimed. "Knightley, you bugger, I knew you had it in you!"

"Grow up," Callahan said simply, but couldn't keep from smirking again at the memory of what exactly had happened in his dormitory.

Langley laughed. "Well, it's about time, I think," he said. "You've been dating her for what, over a year now? You're a better man than me, Callahan…"

"Alright, that's enough," Callahan said in the firm, authoritative tone that was immensely difficult to ignore. "We need to figure out this Beater situation."

And with that, Langley understood that the subject was closed.

---

Sylvie and Vanessa cornered themselves off in the common room that night when Sylvie returned from the library, as they both had a monstrous amount of work to do. Sylvie had found Remus' behavior strange that night; he had avoided her eye and kept their conversation short. Sylvie wrote it off as stress due to work, as she was experiencing the same thing, among other factors.

It did not go unnoticed by Sylvie that Vanessa was shooting her strange glances across the table every now and then.

"What, Vanessa?" Sylvie said, caving.

"Nothing," Vanessa said, looking away quickly.

"_What?_" Sylvie pressed.

"It's nothing, really!" Vanessa exclaimed.

"Vanessa, you're kidding yourself if you think I can't tell when you're lying," Sylvie said. "Why is everyone acting so strange today? First Remus, now you…"

Vanessa sighed. She couldn't keep something like this from her best friend. "Alright. We need to talk," she said quietly.

"Alright. Dormitory?" Sylvie asked, closing her book. Vanessa nodded.

Once in the dormitory, Vanessa and Sylvie sat on Vanessa's bed. Sylvie was nervous to hear what Vanessa had to tell her.

Vanessa looked at Sylvie's expectant face and took a deep breath. "First of all," she said. "I want to get the facts straight. Were you up in Knightley's dormitory this afternoon?"

Sylvie gasped. "How did you…I was, actually…but why…how?" she sputtered, blushing.

Vanessa was momentarily taken aback. "You were there? Did you two…you know…?"

Sylvie blushed even more furiously. "We did," she said quietly.

Vanessa squealed. "Sylvie Lupin! I cannot believe it!"

"Ok, ok, we can talk about that when you tell me how you know about me being up there," Sylvie said sternly.

"Well," Vanessa said. "You're really not going to like this. Sirius and James came to see Remus in the hospital wing earlier, and…they…er…apparently ran into you and Callahan on your way down the stairs."

"I know they did…" Sylvie cut herself off with a gasp. "_They didn't tell him!"_ she hissed.

Vanessa nodded somberly. "Like two eager schoolboys."

Sylvie looked like a madwoman. "_That bastard_," she said through her teeth. "I'm going to kill him, I swear…so that's why Remus was being weird tonight?" Vanessa nodded. "Those two have the collective mentality of a four year old."

"Alright, alright, calm down," Vanessa said.

Sylvie took a deep breath.

"I think there's a lot from this story that I'm missing," Vanessa said slowly.

Sylvie turned to look at her best friend. "I'm not sure I want to get into it right now, Vanessa…"

"Sylvie…" Vanessa began, choosing her words carefully. "I know. About Remus, I mean, about him being a werewolf."

Sylvie almost fell from the bed in shock. "You…you do? Since when?"

"Since about three months after we started going out," Vanessa said.

"And…and you…don't care?" Sylvie asked quietly.

Vanessa rolled her eyes. "You two are so alike sometimes its creepy," she said. "No, I could really care less. Remus is the best person I know, and I love him no matter what."

Sylvie's eyes filled with tears. "You…_love _him?" she whispered.

"Oh, my God," Vanessa said. "You are ridiculous."

"Alright, I'm sorry," Sylvie said, recovering and wiping her eyes. "So how did you find out?" she asked. She shook her head at the memory of Sirius' mistake and added bitterly, "Did Sirius get to you, too? He might as well be starting a campaign."

Vanessa was taken aback. "What?" she asked.

Sylvie raised her eyebrows. "Remus didn't tell you? Sirius told Severus Snape about where to find him when he changed into a werewolf as revenge for the Slytherins messing with Benson, the Beater."

Vanessa covered her mouth with her hand. It was difficult to believe what she'd heard; she'd never been a huge fan of Sirius, but she'd never have thought he'd have such little regard for his friend. "I…can't believe it…how could he?" she said incredulously.

Sylvie nodded. "Believe it. James told me," she said grimly.

Vanessa shook her head slowly. "Ok, now let's start from the beginning of things, because this is a mess and I'm very confused. So, from what you told me, you made a resolution to sort things out with your feelings for Sirius and your relationship with Callahan after Christmas Eve, when you'd decided that you really liked Sirius, and you told him you wanted to break up with Callahan…"

Sylvie's stomach dropped. "Yes, that's how it began. Obviously, I had a lot of trouble with it for the past month, because Callahan is so…_good_…you know what I mean, and I was _drunk _at the time, lest we forget…" she said.

Vanessa nodded understandingly. "Ok. So explain to me what happened today."

Sylvie took a deep breath. "I went to see Remus this morning in the hospital wing to bring him homework, but he wasn't awake yet," she began. "Later on, I ran into James in the common room and he was acting really weird…"

"When is James ever _not _weird?" Vanessa interjected, grinning.

Sylvie snorted, but continued. "Anyway, he was being really evasive and awkward, and then he told me that Sirius was in detention, and I asked him for what and he said he didn't know, which I thought was weird because he and Sirius are basically attached at the hip."

Vanessa nodded.

"So, after some prodding, I got out of him what Sirius had done to get into detention, and I flew off the handle a little bit. I went to the trophy room, and he was just finishing up when I got there," she said, scowling at the memory of Sirius trying to play dumb. "So I yelled at him a bit, and I gave him back his stupid necklace, and I said I never wanted to speak to him again." She felt the tears coming.

Vanessa had an appalled expression upon her face. "Oh, Sylvie, I'm so sorry." In an attempt to cheer up her friend, she asked, "James said you broke Sirius' nose. How'd you manage that?'

"It was broken? Oh, my…" Sylvie said, feeling worse about the situation. "Well, I guess I lost it a bit, I punched him, actually…"

"You broke his nose _with your bare hand_?" Vanessa asked, shocked. "That's actually really scary."

Sylvie shook her head, not in the mood for light conversation. "It was awful. My hand still hurts."

Vanessa looked sympathetically at her friend.

Sylvie cleared her throat. "Anyway," she continued, "I was really upset after that, and I went back up here for a while, but I just felt so…_restless_, you know, so I went back down, and I wanted to go visit Remus and I figured you'd be there as well, but I ran into Callahan…"

"Oh…" Vanessa said, the pieces coming together. She finally understood Sylvie's actions.

"Yes. And we went to the common room, and one thing led to another, and…" Sylvie blushed again.

Vanessa grinned at her friend regardless of the atmosphere of their discussion. "So, I guess you and Callahan are staying together now…"

Sylvie nodded. "Yes, definitely. I don't know _what_ I was thinking…" she said, trying her best to hold back tears again. She shook her head, knowing she was being ridiculous. "So those two idiots went and told Remus after they ran into Cal and me?" she asked bitterly.

Vanessa nodded. "They did. Remus took it well, though, he might as well have told them off for being immature."

Sylvie raised her eyes. "Really? Wow," she said in awe.

"Well, I think it's a lot of what you said to him on Christmas, and also that he'd much rather see you with Callahan than Sirius for obvious reasons…"

Sylvie nodded. "That makes sense," she said in a quiet voice.

Vanessa surveyed her friend. "Sylvie, I think this whole thing was a sign to tell you that Sirius Black will always be the same. May I be frank?" she asked.

"Yes, you may," Sylvie said, unable to stop from smirking at her friend.

"Thank you," Vanessa said, taking a deep breath. "I agree with Remus. I think you're better off with someone like Callahan, because Sirius _has _hurt you, and he _will _again, I have no doubt," she said resolutely. Sylvie was slightly taken aback. "That said, I understand how you feel about Sirius, and I know it may be impossible for you to stay away from each other, despite the bloodbath that inevitably will ensue…I just needed to make you aware of my opinion."

Sylvie eyed Vanessa incredulously. "No one need worry about bloodbaths, believe me. Sirius and I are done," she said sternly. "In fact, we never _were_ anything, so…that's that, then."

Vanessa eyed Sylvie suspiciously.

"Stop looking at me like that, Vanessa," Sylvie said. "I mean it."

Vanessa nodded, but knew Sylvie better than to believe what her friend said.

"You're totally right," Sylvie continued. "I really feel like I've changed a lot today. I'm done dealing with his issues and his antics," she said. "He'd a child, Vanessa, and I really can't believe I didn't see it earlier. I'm done with it," she said again.

Vanessa nodded again, not knowing what to say.

Sylvie huffed. "Who does he think he is, anyway? Tattling to Remus like that, like he has _any _right…" She trailed off, making a frustrated noise. "Well, from this day forward, I am not a timid little girl anymore. I will be strong and savvy and I will not be underestimated again!"

"Alright, alright, calm down!" Vanessa said, laughing. "You broke a fairly large Quidditch player's nose with your bare hand and lost your virginity in the same day. No one's going to underestimate you."

Sylvie laughed in spite of herself.

"So," Vanessa asked tentatively. "Can I ask how it was?"

Sylvie blushed deeper than before. "It was…odd," she said.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I can't really say it was good," Sylvie explained. "But it was…pleasant. Cal asked me the same thing and I told him I felt older." She smirked when she remembered the experience.

Vanessa grinned at her friend. "I mean this with all due respect: Callahan Knightley is gorgeous," she said.

Sylvie laughed, then sighed. "He's just…wow," she said, grinning stupidly.

"Like I said, you two are so great for each other," Vanessa said knowingly. "Don't even worry about that prat."

The grin dropped from Sylvie's face as what Vanessa said made her think of Sirius. "Can we just…not talk about _him_? It's just…not what I want to think about right now," she snapped. "I should be thinking about how lucky I am…right?" She looked expectantly at Vanessa.

"Absolutely," Vanessa said resolutely. When she looked at Sylvie's unsure face, however, she thought about _that thing_ and train wrecks and sincerely hoped for the best for all involved parties.

---

Callahan and Langley had decided to hold brief tryouts during the already-scheduled practice the next day. He relayed this information to the team at various times during the day, to each member except for Black, who he'd already told the day before last.

Sylvie had decided to attend the practice; she did this regularly since she'd been dating Callahan, and since half her friends were on the team. She considered not going to this particular practice, for obvious reasons, but in the end she decided that it would be admitting her defeat if she didn't go.

She walked down early that evening with Callahan and Langley, and took her usual seat in the stands as the two of them went to change. She tapped her foot nervously in anticipation of seeing Sirius for the first time since he and James had seen her and Callahan in the dormitory.

Callahan and Langley were already in the air by the time the rest of the team had gotten to the field.

Sylvie let her eyes linger on Sirius for a few moments as he and James walked onto the field, brooms in hands, catching his eye. He looked surprised that she'd shown up, but she couldn't read his expression otherwise. She turned her gaze away to watch Callahan throw the Quaffle through one of the goal hoops, beating Langley in their practice-game. A smile played upon her lips as she thought about the day before. It had been wonderful, and she really was lucky to have a boyfriend like Callahan Knightley. She felt a fresh wave of anger at Sirius for tainting her feelings for Callahan, which from now on, she told herself, would be pure.

Her eyes followed Sirius as he and James kicked off. Although she was by no means an authority on Quidditch play, she could tell that Sirius was just as skilled as Callahan, but Callahan had much more control over his style than Sirius. She laughed to herself as she realized that this reflected their real-life natures.

The practice went quite normally, save for the Beater tryouts, which were quick nonetheless; decisive Callahan had picked a new Beater out in under a quarter of an hour, and then began to seamlessly lead the practice with the new Beater, who wasn't half bad.

Sylvie secretly held her breath every time that Sirius and Callahan came too close to one another in the air; another reason she'd decided to come to the practice was because she wanted to be there in case there was another fight. For some reason, she felt that her presence might keep Callahan from becoming violent, as he wouldn't want to be that way in front of her. She couldn't say the same for Sirius, but she knew that James would keep him at bay if necessary.

At the end of the practice, Knightley called the team down to the field before they left. For the sake of the team, Sirius had remained quiet throughout the practice. It wasn't until afterwards that he lost his meticulous control.

Callahan didn't know what he was becoming, but he didn't like it. How could he derive so much satisfaction from seeing Black disoriented and visibly different from the day before?

Sirius wasn't much better. Even though he knew he wanted to make an effort to look good, at least in front of Sylvie, he found it exceedingly difficult to interact with Knightley without wanting to shove him off his broom.

Sirius was the first to land. Callahan couldn't resist prodding him. His conversation with Sylvie was still on his mind. "I don't know what you did to my girlfriend, Black," he began in a low voice. "But, as I've said before, it would be in your best interest to stay away from her."

Sirius glared at Callahan, anger boiling in his veins. "Shove off, Knightley, it's none of your business," he said sharply.

"It's absolutely my business where Sylvie is concerned, and if I found out you did anything to hurt her—"

"Did she tell you we snogged all night on Christmas Eve?" Sirius snapped without thinking, cutting Callahan off.

Callahan's face twitched, but he kept his composure. "Yeah, well, we did more than snog all day yesterday, and we'll probably be doing more than snogging again tonight," he said in a low voice without missing a beat, although this news did irk him, so that only Black could hear. "And now, even if she's ever stupid enough to shag your pathetic arse, which I know she isn't, you can well know that she learned everything she knows from me." He was again disgusted with himself, but immensely satisfied at Black's reaction.

Sirius looked murderous, and even considered attacking Knightley right then and there, but he shoved the Quaffle as roughly as he could into Knightley's chest and stormed off the field, broom in hand.

Sylvie, from her place in stands, saw this exchange, but she couldn't hear what was being said. As soon as she saw Sirius shove the Quaffle at Callahan, fearing that there was going to be a fight, she quickly stood and began to make her way down to the field. She was relieved when Sirius walked off of it until she realized he was walking towards her.

She steeled herself against what Sirius would say to her when she passed him, but to her surprise, all she got was a venomous glare.

What had she been expecting? She rolled her eyes and walked right past him with her head held high. He wouldn't get the best of her.

When she reached him, Callahan leaned down and kissed her on the lips, right in front of everyone.

Sylvie was surprised; Callahan had never done anything more than hold her hand in public before. "Cal, really!" she said, painfully aware of James and Vanessa's sniggering.

He just smirked and walked towards the locker room. She shook her head, knowing that she would never quite understand men.

"What happened?" she asked, looking at him pointedly as soon as they were out of earshot of the others.

"Nothing at all," he said breezily. "Don't worry. Just putting him in his place," he said, smirking to himself. He put his large arm around her shoulders as they walked.

"Ugh, you're sweating!" she squealed, which only led him to hold her tighter, making her giggle.

"You didn't mind that yesterday," he whispered in her ear before he kissing her again.

"Callahan Knightley, _what_ has gotten into you?" she asked, realizing that she'd perhaps spoken too loudly as they reached the locker room exactly as Sirius was leaving. Sylvie again held her breath, but Sirius didn't even stop. He walked quickly back in the direction of the castle.

Callahan kissed her again. "I'll see you later, Sylvie," he said, and left her to go into the locker room.

Sylvie shook her head incredulously, then began to walk back up to the castle, still feeling uneasy about the encounter between Sirius and Callahan.

Halfway back, she was startled by an all-too-familiar bark-like voice shouting, "Oi!"

Before she even had time to be startled, Sirius emerged from behind a tree and ran up to her. "Stop," he said.

"What do you want? You scared the living daylights out of me!" she snapped.

"I want to know what you think you're playing at," he said angrily.

She glared at him. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," he said, glaring right back at her.

She rolled her eyes, relenting. "I don't see how it's any of your concern in the least, Sirius. You and I are _through_. Although, I don't know how we can be through when we never _were,_" she said thoughtfully. "Anyway, you can rest assured that we will never _be_, not after what you did. You're lucky I'm even speaking to you right now," she spat.

"That may be so, but you_ are_ speaking to me, aren't you?" he said cleverly. Sylvie opened her mouth indignantly, but he continued before she could speak. "Notice how I didn't beat the bollocks out of Knightley today?" he asked.

Sylvie snorted. "As if you _could _have."

"What—" he began angrily. "No. That's not the point," he said, trying hard to control himself. "You should have heard the things he was saying…"

"What do you mean?" she asked acidly.

"Let's just say he's not the nice bloke you make him out to be," Sirius said, obviously trying to egg her on.

She smirked pointedly. "Oh, believe me, I already knew _that_," she said smugly.

Sirius looked at her in shock, his mouth hanging open. When would she stop shocking him? And when would he stop loving her more for it?

"Well…be that as it may…he was just plain inappropriate today. He said, and this is verbatim, 'Sylvie and I did a lot more than snog last night,' and 'if she's ever stupid enough to shag your pathetic arse (meaning me), you can well know that she learned everything she knows from me.'"

Sylvie snorted again.

"You think that's _funny_?" he said.

"Well, not really, it's very un-Callahan-like, actually, but your reaction is making it priceless," she said simply. "And it's true, you know…especially the part about me never being stupid enough to shag your pathetic arse."

He made a frustrated noise.

"Oh, what?" she snapped. "You don't think the same goes for Catherine? I'm sure she taught you a thing or two." Sirius couldn't help but notice the bitterness in her voice.

"I—it's not the same," he said quickly.

She shook her head. "You are _such _a hypocrite!" she exclaimed. "It's _exactly _the same thing!"

"I am not a hypocrite!" he said indignantly.

They stood seething at each other for a moment before he spoke again.

"So, he wasn't lying? You actually shagged him?" Sirius asked earnestly.

"How is that any of your concern at all?" she snapped acidly.

He felt a fresh wave of anguish, but didn't let it show. "You know exactly why it's my concern, Sylvie."

She shook her head. "No. I used to know that. Now I know you're not the person I thought you were becoming, and you never will be. Not if you could do something like that to my brother, your _best friend_."

"Everyone else has forgiven me. You were the first last time, what's going on now?" he said, knowing he was grasping at straws.

"You are incredible!" she huffed. "I can't believe how immature you are, you don't even think you've done anything wrong! And as for last time, you can say and do what you want to _me_, but not to my brother. I think he's mad to even look at you after this."

Sirius was speechless; he only stared at her in horror.

"And as for you and James telling Remus what you saw, I think both of you are despicable!" she shouted, breathing rather heavily. "I can't believe how _stupid _I was to think that you'd actually changed. Say what you want about Callahan, but he would _never_ do anything like this to _anyone._"

They glared at each other in silence, Sirius feeling himself growing angrier by the minute.

"Well, you know what? Good, then. You go off with Knightley and see how happy you are in a few years when you're trapped as his little wife in some manor in the middle of nowhere!" he spat, the decibels of his voice rising with his temper.

Sylvie looked at him incredulously. "You are an insane person! What are you even talking about?" she shouted.

"I don't even care," he yelled, his anger blinding him. "You are such a shrew!"

Sylvie laughed mirthlessly. "_Shrew?_" she said shrilly. "Are you an old man now?"

"No, I am not!" he shouted, losing his temper altogether. He made a frustrated noise. "I can have any girl I want in this whole bloody school! Why am I even bothering with you?"

"Because _I'm_ the only one you can't have!" she screamed, enraged by his attitude.

Her words stung him because he knew she was absolutely right.

"So this is how it's going to be," he growled.

"It didn't have to, Sirius," she said, showing sadness in her eyes for the first time.

"So because I did one stupid thing, our relationship isn't even a possibility anymore?" he snapped.

"_We never had a relationship, Sirius!" _she screamed. "Whatever we did have is _ruined_ because of you! And you know what? It was doomed from the start! I could kick myself for ever thinking anything different! Just leave me alone from now on!"

With that, she pushed past him and began to walk quickly back to the castle.

Feeling rage bubbling inside him, he yelled at her retreating back, "Fine, then! Have it your way! You'll be regretting it in a week when Knightley starts annoying you again and you need someone to snog on the side!"

If she heard him, she pretended not to, although he thought he saw tension in her shoulders as she walked.

The worst part for him wasn't that he'd been so close to having Sylvie as his girlfriend; it was that he knew very well that only had himself to blame.


	13. A Good, Stiff Kick in the Ego

**"A Good, Stiff Kick in the…Ego"**

"_The rules of fair play do not apply in love and war."_

_-John Lyly, "Euphues" (1578)_

_._

_._

Sylvie and Sirius stopped speaking altogether and avoided each other as much as possible for the next month or so. Before the realized it, it was early May and Sylvie and the rest of the fifth years were on the brink of mad O.W.L. studying.

For the most part, Sirius fared worse than Sylvie, who found she could be quite happy with Callahan as long as she forced herself not to think about Sirius. She knew as long as she didn't let him get under her skin, she'd be fine.

Callahan appreciated Sylvie's lack of acknowledgement for Black, and he and Black had almost as little interaction as Black and Sylvie, save for Quidditch practices.

Sylvie's anger towards Sirius and James didn't abate. She was cross with James for going along with Sirius to tell Remus about her and Callahan, but her anger at Sirius went much deeper. Indeed, it was difficult for her to shake bitter feelings she had towards him every time she saw him. These feelings, paired with Sirius' return to his arrogant, obnoxious self since their fight, made Sylvie want nothing more than to slap him whenever she heard his haughty, drawling voice.

Although Sirius still harbored a burning desire for Sylvie, he was, upon deep contemplation, extremely agitated by her attitude during their fight. He knew what he'd done was awful, but he couldn't see how Sylvie could stay angry with him as long as she had. Everyone else (save Vanessa, whom he suspected never particularly liked him much anyway) had clearly moved on from the incident, but why wouldn't Sylvie? It frustrated him to no end.

He took to dating again, in part because he was bored, as even he realized his pursuit of Sylvie was futile at the moment, and in part because some convoluted part of himself thought that if Sylvie saw him with enough girls, that she would become jealous and would want him again.

Unfortunately, Sirius' antics did just the opposite; Sylvie, who had thrown herself fully into her relationship with Callahan for the first time since they had started dating, at best found Sirius' many pursuits amusing, and at worst found that there were many more tarty girls at Hogwarts than she'd previously thought. Only a small part of her flared up in anger and sorrow, but she quickly learned to keep that part of her safely tucked away. This was easiest to do when Callahan was around, because a look from her handsome, kind boyfriend would block out other, more invasive feelings to an extent.

Indeed, regardless of how many girls Sirius went out with, whenever he saw Sylvie smile up at Callahan, saw her sit on the arm of his chair or in his lap, saw her stroke his arm or saw him place a hand on her back (the most public display of affection they showed after the Quidditch practice incident), his heart broke and he hated himself for what he'd done. But only for a moment; soon he would be back to Sirius Black as if nothing had ever happened.

One day, James and Sirius were walking back from a class they had together. Their conversation strayed somehow to Lily Evans, the pretty redheaded girl in their class for whom James carried an incessant torch, and who had just rejected him yet again.

"I really think I'm close to getting her to say yes to me, Padfoot," James was saying. "I can feel it."

Sirius snorted. "Feel it how? When she hexes you for speaking to her?" he said, grinning.

James shoved him. "Shut it! It's just her way of…getting my attention," he said defensively.

"Alright, mate, whatever you say," Sirius said, not having the heart to say anything more.

"How are things going with what's-her-name, then?" James asked, almost defensively.

Sirius shrugged nonchalantly, but felt a pang when he thought of Sylvie, as he undoubtedly did whenever a girl was mentioned. "Mary? She's cross with me," he said.

James laughed. "Why's that?"

"Because I called her 'Allison' by accident," Sirius said, smirking. "God, she's annoying." He knew he should have felt guilty, but he was beginning to have a low regard for the girls he dated, partly because they were mostly stupid and superficial, and partly because, obviously, they weren't Sylvie Lupin.

James shook his head, guffawing. "Why do you bother with her, then?" he asked. "Why bother with any of them?"

"Because they're pretty, I guess? I don't know," he answered noncommittally.

"But what about Sylvie?" James looked at his friend, reading between the lines of what he was saying. He knew that Sirius was still hooked on Sylvie, and he wondered if it would ever change. He felt Sirius' pain, as his situation with Lily wasn't much different than Sirius'. James had always thought that Sylvie and Sirius would end up together, but now he was uncertain.

Admittedly, he was not the most perceptive of people, but even he saw the way Sylvie and Knightley were together, happy and all, and he couldn't tell if it was an act to hurt Sirius (girls were truly unbelievable sometimes, he knew this), or if it was legitimate. James smirked when he thought about how far wrapped around Sylvie's finger Knightley was, how he hung off her every word. He couldn't imagine Sirius hanging off of anyone's words, even Sylvie's. He thought it might be for the best that they weren't together.

Sirius exhaled loudly. "She'll come around," he mumbled.

James rolled his eyes. "Don't you think it's a bit stupid to pin everything on one girl who hates you at the moment? Why not find someone _you_ actually like, who can actually stand to be around you?"

"Hark who's talking!" Sirius snapped.

James glared at him.

Sirius sighed. "Sorry, mate. I just…I just know Sylvie pretty well, and I can tell that she's just playing a game right now. She does still like me, but she took the easy way out, and rather than break up with Knightley, she's channeling all of her rage and frustration onto me, using what I did as a guise for it."

James looked at him incredulously. "How d'you figure that?"

"Well, it's pretty obvious that she's trying to make me jealous. She shagged Knightley the _same day_ she had that tantrum and punched me. What does that say?"

"It says that Sylvie is kind of fantastic," James said bemusedly.

Sirius punched James' arm, causing him to yelp.

"It _says_ that she only did that as a knee-jerk reaction to what I did. She probably wanted to do something that would hurt me because I hurt her, and of course she'd be passive-aggressive about it because of how much she hates confrontation. So now, I've decided that I'm just going to bide my time until she comes around."

James shook his head. "She hates confrontation? Mate, she sought you out and broke your nose with her bare fist. How much more confrontational does it get?"

"Indeed, James, it doesn't get much more confrontational than that," said a familiar, bemused, girlish voice from behind them. Both boys jumped and spun around to find Sylvie Lupin standing with her hands on her hips and a malicious smile on her face. They were lost for words, their mouths hanging open.

"You should really be careful about what you harp on about in public, Sirius. These corridors echo," she snapped.

Sirius shook his head and snapped back to reality. "Most people wouldn't lurk silently behind someone, eavesdropping," he said.

"Well with your booming, obnoxious voice, how was I to avoid it? I heard my name," she said simply, then grinned. "So, tell me, Sirius, how's…what was it? Biding your time? How's that working out for you?" she asked, laughing. "Why are men so _daft_? Your self-centeredness would be offensive if it weren't ridiculous."

Sirius' eyes narrowed, but then he smirked, stepping closer to her. "Oh, Sylvie. You can harp on all you want about everyone else being daft, but what happens when you realize that you're still madly in love with me? I haven't forgotten Christmas, or that night in the dark classroom, or—"

Sylvie scowled and James backed away slowly, not wanting to get involved. He walked quickly back to the common room, shaking his head. Neither Sylvie nor Sirius noticed.

"That was before I found out what you were capable of, you insensitive, arrogant bastard," she growled. He knew she was angry, but she didn't let on nearly as much as she had in the past. In a moment, she was composed again. She took a deep breath. "No matter, though. I've heard that even my brother disapproves of your antics. Too bad that plan backfired, isn't it?"

Sirius laughed. "I just thought that since Remus is so protective of you, he should know what you're up too."

Sylvie looked thoughtful. She was determined not to let Sirius get the best of her. This was easy because, as girls often do, she had found out a valuable piece of information concerning a certain relationship through a thin grapevine.

A few nights ago in the common room, Sylvie and Vanessa had been talking to Lily Evans, Sylvie's fellow Gryffindor prefect. For one reason or another, Vanessa's relationship with Remus had come up. Lily knew Remus relatively well,

"You two are absolutely adorable together," Lily had said to Vanessa. "I think it's just fantastic how well-suited you two are for each other."

Vanessa beamed and Sylvie grinned as well, as she knew how happy Vanessa and her brother were together, and she could not think of any two more deserving people.

"Yes, he's quite amazing," Vanessa said.

"I just don't understand how he's so close with James Potter and Sirius Black," Lily wondered aloud. It was a well-known fact that Lily hated Sirius and James, especially the latter.

Sylvie and Vanessa exclaimed a quick glance. It was also a well-known fact, at least among them, that James had fallen hard for Lily during his third year and ever since, had been trying and failing to win her over.

"James really isn't that bad, Lily," Vanessa said softly.

"Yes, I honestly think it's Sirius that influences him," Sylvie added, scowling. "James…well, his heart's in the right place, generally."

Lily made a disgusted noise. "I think they're both utterly despicable," she said, inferring that the subject was closed, even though it intrigued her that someone as sweet as Sylvie could think well of James. "No offense to you, of course. Anyway, speaking of Sirius Black…" Sylvie stiffened at the mention of his name. "…he's really become…well, kind of awful, hasn't he? I mean, all those girls…"

Sylvie scowled again as Vanessa looked at her somewhat nervously. "Yes, he has. Although it's no surprise, he's always been awful."

Lily looked at her curiously. "I thought you used to be friends with him," she said.

"I used to be, but once I found out what kind of a person he really is…" Sylvie shrugged. "I have no need for it anymore. He's a ridiculous child, and any girl who falls for his…_routine_…is just as ridiculous as he is."

Vanessa and Lily snorted. "Especially since it's obvious he's been carrying a torch for you for years, and probably still is," Lily added. "Don't they realize it?''

"Well if they do, they certainly don't care very much," Sylvie said shortly, and perhaps more angrily than she meant to. "_I _wouldn't date Sirius Black if he were the last man left on Earth."

Vanessa laughed nervously.

"Why would you want to? You've got Callahan Knightley," Lily said. "He seems wonderful."

"Oh, yes, he's _perfect_," Sylvie said, grinning mechanically. Truth be told, she was still extremely sore over what Sirius had done, and the fact that he'd told Remus about her and Callahan had been like rubbing salt in the wound. Even thoughts of her enviable boyfriend couldn't push the pain and irritation from her mind. "The opposite of…well…certain people," she added.

"Ugh, I don't know why anyone would date someone like James or Sirius. A different girl every week! And he flaunts it!" Lily exclaimed. "Wasn't he with that fourth year Mary Asher last week?"

"He still is," Sylvie said automatically. Vanessa and Lily looked at her curiously. "At least, that's what I've heard," she added quickly, looking away.

"Really?" Lily said, raising her eyebrows. "Well, last night, I saw him snogging Allison Bennett in an empty corridor."

Sylvie and Vanessa gasped. They had both heard Sirius bragging about Mary just the night before last. Allison, a Gryffindor girl from their year, had not been present. "No, he's definitely still dating Mary," Vanessa said.

"I cannot believe him," Sylvie said. "Allison is such a nice girl." Sylvie really believed this; Allison was a very sweet girl who never did anything to hurt anyone. She knew, however, that Allison was just a bit gullible and would succumb easily to any charming Sirius put upon her.

"She is very nice, if not the brightest girl in the world…" Vanessa said.

"Vanessa!" Sylvie hissed disparagingly. "She is a _victim_ in this situation!"

"So you think that Sirius told her they'd broken up?" Lily asked.

"I wouldn't put it past him…" Sylvie had said. She hadn't paid much attention to the rest of the conversation, as the gears in her head were turning, storing the information she'd just learned for another time…

"Hmm…" Sylvie said, staring up at Sirius unblinkingly. "You make a good point. I think it applies universally, don't you? Like, say, if someone I knew was going behind Mary Asher's back with Allison Bennett, who happens to be a very sweet and unassuming girl. Don't you think Mary, as well as Allison, should know what_ he's_ up to?" She smiled sweetly while his face blanched.

Sirius, as well as everyone else old enough to understand, knew that Mary Asher was slightly mad. He, of course, had found this very amusing in the beginning, but after a week, he'd realized that madness in a girl was definitely not a redeeming quality. He had sought out Allison for solace a few days before, and had yet to tell Mary things weren't working out, as she made an angry Sylvie look like a cross kitten.

"You wouldn't dare," he whispered in horror.

"Well, according to your logic, she's devoted—what, a week?—of her life to you, so don't you think she should _know what you're up to_?" Sylvie said with wicked sweetness.

Sirius shook his head, trying to shake the thought from his mind. "How…how do you even know?" he sputtered.

"I think, my friend, that you would be very surprised by how much girls talk amongst themselves," she said. "Goodness knows, you've wronged a bevy of them. Me, Holly, Mary, Allison, Catherine…shall I go on?"

"Sylvie…come on…let's just…let's be reasonable now…" Sirius said, trying to appeal to her kindness.

Apparently she had no more kindness left for him. "Because you're so famous for _your_ sense of reason, Sirius Black!" she snapped. "Maybe if _you _had tried being reasonable, you wouldn't be where you are now and you wouldn't need to be with a different girl every week!"

For the first time, Sirius understood Sylvie's motives. Or at least he thought he did. He walked closer to her. "Don't flatter yourself, love," he said in a low voice. "Who's to say I _want_ to be wrapped around your finger like Knightley, running around after you like a puppy?"

Sylvie's eyes narrowed. If he hadn't been so insufferably arrogant, she wouldn't have even considered telling him what she was about to say, but she didn't care about hurting him anymore.

"_James Potter_ said just that, or something like it," she said, pushing back her shoulders to make herself appear as tall as she could. "During the first few weeks I wasn't talking to you, he came to me saying how broken up you were about the whole mess, and how much you missed me.

"Oddly enough, I actually considered talking to you again after that, but it's funny," she paused thoughtfully, drawing her hand to her chin and looking up. "I could swear that very the next day, you were prancing about with Ashley…what's her name? Oh, I suppose it doesn't matter now as _clearly_, you've moved on." She then took a moment to compose herself and sighed boredly. "I've got to go find Cal, and I'm sure you've got to go find…well, some tart's bound to have you." She turned on her heel and began to walk away.

Sirius felt as though he'd been slapped. He put aside his rage at James for the moment. "You…you're not going to say anything to Mary, are you?" he called after her.

She turned and shook her head, looking at him with a surprisingly earnest expression on her face. "You're no one's puppy, that's for sure."

Sirius' pride and temper got the best of him. He hated being put in the position he was in, especially by Sylvie. "You're damn right I'm not! If a girl's too stupid to figure out what I'm up to, then she deserves it!"

Sylvie gasped, her face distorted with rage as she rounded on him. "You need to be taught a lesson," she said in a threatening voice that was very uncharacteristic of her. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again: people are not yours to play with." With that, she disappeared down the corridor, leaving Sirius alone with his thoughts.

If he didn't fear for his life at the moment, he would have been very impressed with Sylvie's tactics. She got more fantastic by the day, something that both amused and anguished him. Her comment about the puppy stuck with him, even though it had been his word. He thought about his Animagus form. He couldn't believe that Sylvie still didn't know his, Remus, James and Peter's biggest secret. When he and Sylvie were finally together, he'd find a way to tell her.

He shook his head and laughed as he began to walk. It was most obvious to him now that she still wanted him. Why else would she go to all this trouble? He felt guilty about lying to her; he well knew that he would love to be wrapped around her finger, but he would never let on about it, even if they were dating.

He decided not to worry about the Mary Asher situation at the moment, as he believed that Sylvie would never have the nerve to act on her knowledge, and once again he underestimated her.

---

The next night, Sirius, just to be on the safe side, ended things with Allison. She was quite a gullible girl and he thoroughly believed that she thought he wasn't with Mary anymore. He felt guilty for making her sad, but he thought it was for the best, especially in his case.

A few minutes later, Sylvie and Vanessa, who were in their quiet dormitory studying, as their O.W.L. exams grew ever closer when, suddenly, Allison burst into the room crying and went straight into the bathroom.

Sylvie and Vanessa, whom Sylvie had told about her exchange with Sirius the day before, exchanged glances, knowing exactly what had happened.

"What a bastard," Sylvie mumbled, feeling genuinely sorry for the girl. "Allison?" she called, standing next to the bathroom door. "Are you alright?"

The door flung open. "No, I'm n-not alright!" she sobbed, flopping down on her bed. Sylvie and Vanessa sat down beside her. "I've n-never been m-more embarrassed in my l-life!"

"What happened, Allison?" Vanessa said, patting Allison's back soothingly.

"It's S-Sirius Black!" she said.

Vanessa and Sylvie nodded to each other. "You pay him no mind, Allison, you're much too good for him," Sylvie said sternly.

"I just feel so used!" Allison exclaimed, calming down a bit. "I never thought he would be such a tosser!"

Sylvie nodded. "You have no idea," she said solemnly. "What did he tell you about himself and Mary Asher?"

"He said that they'd broken up, and he was really sad about it, and I felt bad for him, so…" She noticed that Sylvie and Vanessa were both shaking their heads. "Is there something I missed?" Allison asked.

"I'm afraid there is," Vanessa said solemnly.

"Sirius and Mary never broke up," Sylvie said gently. "To the best of my knowledge, they're still going strong."

Allison's face blanched, her expression very angry. "So he lied to me?" she said shrilly. "That complete prat. How dare he?"

Vanessa nodded sympathetically. "We would have warned you, but we only just found out ourselves. Sylvie heard from Lily Evans," she said.

"So people are talking about me now?" Allison shrieked. "Perfect, just _perfect…_"

"No, no! No one blames you, Allison! Anyone who knows would think that Sirius Black is the world's biggest prat and needs to be taught a lesson," Vanessa said.

The gears in Sylvie's head had begun to turn again, as she remembered talking to Lily about a love potion Lily had brewed in potions class. (Sylvie had become very interested in potions during her years at Hogwarts, and was lately fascinated with the idea of becoming a Healer.) She remembered her conversation with Lily about making a love potion, and about how Lily had made one of her own, but planned never to use it. Sylvie tried to remember if Lily had taken a sample of that potion with her after the class…Sylvie believed she had…

"You know, you are absolutely right, Vanessa," Sylvie said, a grin playing on her face. "I was thinking the _exact _same thing. He needs a good, stiff kick in the…ego," she added, her eyes glazing over as she contemplated her next move. "I think it would be good for him."

Vanessa raised her eyebrows and Allison looked on bewilderedly. "What are you thinking about, Sylvie? I can tell you have some kind of idea brewing…" Vanessa said curiously.

"Oh, I've got an idea, all right…" Sylvie said, hardly paying attention. "I need to find Lily. This needs to be put into action right away…" With that, she left the dormitory to run down to the common room, finding Lily Evans sitting at a table alone reading a book. Sylvie sat down across from her.

"Hi, Sylvie!" Lily said, smiling at her.

Sylvie glanced around and saw Sirius sitting with Mary. _What gall_, she thought, narrowing her eyes. She turned back to Lily, grinning. "Hi, Lily. Can I have a word with you upstairs?" she asked.

"Er, sure, of course," Lily said, closing her book and following Sylvie up the stairs.

"So you remember what we were talking about the other day? About Sirius Black and Allison Bennett?"

"Of course," Lily said. "Why?"

"Well, Sirius left her today," Sylvie explained. "And she's really devastated, she had no idea about Mary. She's up in our dormitory now. Vanessa and I were thinking he needs to be taught a serious lesson."

"That's horrible, she's so nice. He absolutely needs to be taught a lesson, I think he's had it coming for a long time, personally…" Lily, who'd known a girl or two who'd had her heart broken by Sirius Black, said.

"Yes, and I've got the perfect idea. You were telling me the other day about that love potion you brewed…"

Lily grinned. "Yes…I think I see where this is going," she said.

"Did you save any?" Sylvie asked.

"As a matter of fact, we just got our graded samples back today," Lily said, pulling a vial out of her pocket. "I got full marks."

"You are _fantastic_," Sylvie said, taking the vial and examining it. "I'll explain inside."

The two girls entered Sylvie and Vanessa's dormitory, where Allison was still looking forlorn sitting on her bed, Vanessa sitting next to her.

"Allison, I have a plan, if you're really willing to get back at Sirius," Sylvie said, going over to the bed with Lily in tow.

"I am, believe me, I am," Allison said, nodding vigorously. "I would like nothing more than to see him be as humiliated as I am." She had stopped crying. "Hi, Lily," she said, turning to Lily. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to help," Lily said simply.

"So what's this plan, Sylvie?" Vanessa said, intrigued.

"Well, it involves this love potion from Lily…" Sylvie said, holding up the vial. "I was thinking that we could somehow slip it into Sirius' drink at dinner, sometime when he's in public with Mary, so he'll go absolutely _bonkers _for Allison, and then he'll be given away."

Lily and Vanessa laughed. "To be honest, Sylvie, I didn't think you had it in you," Lily said.

Allison, however, looked skeptical. "But won't it look bad?" she asked. "If all of a sudden he goes crazy for _me_?"

Sylvie shook her head. "It'll look bad for _him_, especially when you publicly reject him!" Sylvie said, grinning.

"Oh!" Allison exclaimed. "_Now_ I see what you mean! You're _brilliant!_"

Sylvie nodded, feeling self-satisfied. Sirius Black would learn from this; he would learn not to play with people's feelings, and she was certain that when she was through, he wouldn't take advantage of a girl ever again, no matter how stupid she was. She convinced herself that her plan had nothing to do with her own bitterness towards him for what he'd done to _her_, or her bitterness at the fact that he was seeing other girls at all. If she'd admitted to herself that it hurt to see him with other girls, and that she secretly expected him to still be pursuing her, or begging her for forgiveness, it would be just too much for her to stomach.

The girls plotted for a while longer, and then retired to bed. They decided to put the plan into effect the next night at dinner.

---

Vanessa was pinned with the task of slipping Sirius the love potion, as neither Allison, Lily, or Sylvie had any reason to be near Sirius at dinner.

Vanessa was also perfect for the job because she had quick reflexes from Quidditch training; she would be able to move quickly and discreetly enough not to be noticed.

Sylvie, Lily and Allison sat with Callahan and his friends at the table, only a short ways from where Sirius, James, Vanessa, Remus and Peter sat. Mary was there too of course, hanging on Sirius' arm and fawning on him as per usual, to Sylvie's great dismay (which she hid well). Her irritation, however, was abated by the prank about to be played, and by the sure-to-be-hilarious result.

In the back of her mind, Sylvie noticed that Langley and Allison seemed to get on well, which made her happy. But that was just the cherry on top of what was surely going to be a very entertaining event. Lily, Allison, and Sylvie kept glancing at each other during the general dinnertime conversation while trying to hold back laughter.

Sirius noticed that Sylvie and Allison were unusually friendly. If he were a bit less stubborn, he would have seen this as a bad sign, but he tried to push that thought from his mind and decided to believe that Sylvie was generally a friendly person, which she was.

"Why do you keep _looking _down the table at Sylvie Lupin, Sirius?" Mary asked shrilly, snapping him out of his revelry. For once, he hadn't actually been admiring Sylvie's beauty, as he'd done so many times before.

"What? Er—I don't have a clue what you're talking about, Mary," he said, staring at her in a way that made her sigh and turn back to her plate.

Mary huffed. "I _saw _you looking. You think I'm stupid, don't you? _Don't you?_" Her voice was getting shrill. He rolled his eyes and put his arm around her shoulders and reassured her that he thought she was very intelligent. She eventually calmed down.

He shook his head. She really was mad. He was thoroughly glad that he'd ended things with Allison before bad went to worse.

What Sirius hadn't noticed was that when he turned to speak to Mary, Vanessa, who had positioned herself on his other side, had passed her hand over his glass so quickly that only the most trained of eyes would have noticed.

Sylvie saw this and almost squealed with excitement. Callahan, who sat next to her, looked at her curiously. "Sylvie, are you alright? You seem very…hyper tonight," he asked, putting an arm around her waist.

Sylvie spun around to look at Callahan, realizing that her demeanor might give her away. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down. "No, Cal, I'm fine…I'm a little nervous about O.W.L.'s being so close and all, but in general, I'm fine," she said.

Callahan laughed, always finding it funny when Sylvie was nervous about something (this was one of the condescending things Callahan did that bothered Sylvie, but she never bothered to confront him about it for one reason or another). He went back to talking to one of his friends about a recent class discussion without worry. He wasn't nearly perceptive enough to pick up on the fact that something was definitely going on amongst the girls in his presence.

Lily, who was sitting on Sylvie's other side, leaned close to speak to her. "Did you see Vanessa make the move?" she asked.

"Yes, she was brilliant, I barely noticed!" Sylvie whispered back. They looked across the table at Allison, who grinned and nodded at them, indicating that she had seen Vanessa as well.

All three girls watched (as discreetly as they could) with bated breath as Sirius ate, waiting for him to take a sip from his glass. It seemed to them that it was a while before he did, but finally, he raised the glass to hip lips and drank.

The effect wasn't instantaneous, and to the girls eagerly watching him, it seemed like forever. The last reasonable thought Sirius had was wondering why Sylvie, Lily Evans, Allison, and even Vanessa, who was still sitting next to him, were looking at him with expressions of anxious anticipation.

Then, it was as though a brick had hit him in the stomach and the only one he saw was Allison. How could he have been so stupid to take her for granted as he had? She was so beautiful and perfect and…

Sylvie and the other girls watched intently as Sirius' expression changed from one of curiosity to one of slackness to one of utter bliss when his eyes fell upon Allison. Sylvie didn't like it, but reminded herself that it was only because of the potion.

"_Sirius!_" Mary was saying shrilly again, noticing that Sirius' attention was not fully on her. "Who are you looking at now? I swear to God…"

"Oh, _shut up, _will you?" Sirius snapped, not looking at Mary. "Stop nagging at me, I just need to talk to…" he said as he got up from his seat and moved towards beautiful, perfect Allison. Even Sylvie's presence couldn't deter him.

Lily, Sylvie and Allison looked at Sirius and tried desperately not to burst out laughing. Callahan and his friends were puzzled by Sirius' actions. More Gryffindors were looking on by the seconds, as were several of those from other house tables.

All of a sudden, Sirius knelt in front of Allison. "Allison…" he said.

Allison was still trying to hold in laughter. "What do you want, Sirius?" she said mock-crossly.

Sirius shook his head and grasped her hands. "Don't be mad at me, Allison. I love you. I love you more than the moon, the stars, Quidditch…"

"Ugh!" Allison said, pulling her hands away and jumping up from her seat. "You are despicable! First, you lie to me about breaking up with Mary, string me along, then you humiliate me by breaking up with me! And now this! Who do you think you are?" she said shrilly. Behind her, Sylvie and Lily were shaking with silent laughter, as were several other people, especially Holly and the other girls who Sirius had wronged.

"I think I'm someone who's deeply in love with you," Sirius said, still on his knees. He grasped her hands again. "Allison Bennett, will you marry me?" he asked earnestly.

Allison looked at him with her mouth agape for a moment, then she burst out laughing. "Sirius, I wouldn't marry you if you were the last man on Earth!" she managed to get out between laughs.

Sirius' face fell. "But…but why?"

Before Allison had a chance to respond, Mary charged up behind Sirius. "Sirius Black, _what do you think you're doing_?" she asked.

He didn't turn to look at her. "I told you to leave me alone, I love Allison," he said without taking his eyes off of Allison, who was doubled over in laughter. The whole Hall was looking at the scene now unfolding at the Gryffindor table.

Mary rounded on Allison next. "What did you do to him? What's this nonsense about he and I breaking up?" she asked.

"Oh, calm down," Allison said dismissively, sitting down again. "He told me you two had broken up, told me what he probably tells everyone, snogged me a few times, then broke up with me. And now he's apparently lost his mind. I really am sorry though, Mary, for believing him."

Mary's face contorted with rage when she looked at Sirius again. "Is this true?" she hissed.

"Of course it is, and we're breaking up now, because I love Allison," Sirius said dreamily.

Sylvie looked from Mary to Sirius to Allison. The situation, hilarious as it was, was getting a bit out of hand, and the teachers were beginning to notice, especially Professor McGonagall. But before she could do anything to intervene, Mary drew her wand and uttered a hex faster than she'd ever seen before.

Suddenly, large boils erupted all over Sirius' face. Apparently, Sylvie had underestimated Mary's madness; she had only wanted to embarrass Sirius, not to have him hexed this badly. Before she could do anything to help, Professor McGonagall was upon them.

"Exactly what is going on here?" she asked sternly, after administering the counter-curse to Sirius.

All looked upon McGonagall with stunned faces.

All except for Sirius. "I love Allison Bennett," he said earnestly. Sylvie couldn't help letting out a laugh.

McGonagall's eyes narrowed as if she had figured out exactly what was going on. "Yes, we all can see that, Mr. Black." She turned to the rest of the Hall. "There's absolutely nothing to see here, everyone please continue with your meal." Reluctantly, everyone in the Hal resumed their chatter. McGonagall then turned her attention to the scene centering around Sirius.

"Mr. Black, if you, Miss Asher, Miss Bennett, and Miss _Lupin_," she said, looking pointedly at Sylvie, "would kindly come with me to my office."

Callahan, who had watched the scene as amusedly as the others, piped up. "But Professor, what has Sylvie got to do with this?"

"Mind yourself, Mr. Knightley, and perhaps be a little more observant," McGonagall said to him before leading the group of students out of the Hall quietly. Sylvie looked at Callahan's puzzled face guiltily as she followed them out. On the way to McGonagall's office, Sirius kept trying to hold Allison's hand, to Mary's dismay, until McGonagall conjured a spell to keep them separated. If Sylvie weren't panicked by the fact that McGonagall had sensed her involvement, she would have found the situation hilarious. She also noticed that Mary kept glaring in Sylvie's direction, which Sylvie found quite unsettling.

Once they reached McGonagall's office, chairs were conjured for each of them and they were seated in front of her desk.

"First of all," McGonagall said, surveying all of them. "Ms. Asher, twenty points will be taken from Gryffindor on your behalf for hexing Mr. Black."

"But…" Mary began, but McGonagall cut her off.

"That will be all, Ms. Asher. You can return to the Hall or your common room now." Mary huffed and left, slamming the door behind her. "Make that thirty points for your attitude!" McGonagall called after her.

"Now," McGonagall said, baring down upon Sylvie, Allison and Sirius. "Obviously, Mr. Black has been given a love potion."

Sylvie and Allison gulped and glanced at each other.

"Love potion? What nonsense! I love Allison from the depths of my—"

"Yes, yes, we know, Mr. Black. Am I correct in my assumption, girls?"

Sylvie spoke first. "Yes, Professor."

McGonagall shook her head. "I'll have to call Professor Slughorn for an antidote," she said slowly.

Once Professor Slughorn was there and (perhaps too jovially) administering the antidote to Sirius, as well as going on about how proud he was of his sixth year N.E.W.T. students for their potion-making abilities, Sylvie and Allison had a few moments to themselves.

"This is a mess!" Allison hissed, her face slack with worry.

"I know! I feel terrible! I'll take the blame, Allison, just let me talk," Sylvie whispered back.

"No…" Allison began to say, but Sirius was just about coming to.

This was another moment when, if the situation were not terrifying, Sylvie would have laughed. Sirius' expression went from the slack, blissful façade he had when under the influence of the potion to one of confusion, whilst he glanced around at Professor Slughorn (who left shortly after he could see that his antidote was working) and Professor McGonagall and realized that this was her office, where he'd been many times before. When he saw Sylvie and Allison looking at him apprehensively, and he thought about all that he'd said and done in the past quarter of an hour, the gravity of the situation dawned on him.

His eyes narrowed when he looked at Sylvie, knowing this was all her idea. "You…"

"Black…" McGonagall said threateningly.

"You drugged me, Sylvie? Really?" Sirius said furiously.

Sylvie raised her eyebrows at him. "I did what?" she said simply.

Sirius huffed and pulled his wand out faster than anyone could see and shot a jinx at her, but a mundane one, because even in his rage he didn't want to hurt her.

All of a sudden, Sylvie's two front teeth began to grow at an alarming rate. "You bugger!" Sylvie said, although her words were muffled by her newly enormous teeth. She quickly drew her own wand and shot a jinx back at Sirius, which happened to be the Jelly-Legs Jinx, one that he himself had taught her years ago. She thought it would be most poignant. Sirius immediately slumped to the ground, his legs wiggling uselessly, glaring furiously at Sylvie while she glared furiously back, covering her mouth with her hand, trying her best to hide her continually growing teeth.

"_Protego!_" McGonagall shouted. Sylvie and Sirius were forced further away from one another by the force of the charm. "Both of you, stop this right now!"

McGonagall first rushed to Sylvie to halt and reverse the growth of her teeth, then she shot an anti-jinx at Sirius. Both parties took their seats but continued to glare at one another furiously.

"Now," McGonagall said once the situation was under control and she was behind her desk once more. "Please explain this to me, Miss Lupin, as it seems you and Mr. Black are the center of it."

Sylvie glared at Sirius once more, turned to McGonagall and sighed. "It was really stupid of me, Professor, and no one but me should be blamed, it was my idea…"

"Sylvie, you don't have to do that! I'm the one who was hurt by him, I'm the one who wanted to get him back!" Allison piped up.

Sylvie shook her head. "No, I'm the only one who should be blamed. It's not Allison's fault," she said, glaring at Sirius pointedly.

"Well, at least Allison's not a vindictive—"

"Black, watch your tongue, we'll get to you," McGonagall said threateningly. "Miss Lupin, your taking responsibility of this is admirable, and if this is truly how you feel, then Miss Bennett is free to go," she said, decidedly more level.

"Sylvie, are you absolutely sure?" Allison said.

"Yes, yes, go," Sylvie said dismissively. She felt guilty enough already, she didn't need to get anyone else in trouble.

"I would have expected this kind of behavior from Mr. Black," Sirius smirked in spite of himself, "but never from a you, Miss Lupin, given that you're at the top of your class and you've been made a Hogwarts prefect this year," McGonagall said, reeking of disappointment. "And especially so close to your O.W.L. examinations."

"I'm sorry, Professor," Sylvie said in a soft voice, looking down.

McGonagall shook her head again. "A love potion…it must have been from one of Professor Slughorn's students…I don't suppose you'll tell me who, though."

Sylvie shook her head. The last thing she wanted was to get more people in trouble for her prank-gone-awry.

Sirius, despite his rage, felt admiration for Sylvie at this moment, for her loyalty to her friends and for taking responsibility for the whole thing. But, Sirius was not so noble, and he had a good idea of who gave Sylvie the love potion.

He knew a fair amount about pranks, and he surmised that this one had to involve at least three people, maybe four. He was not ready to let the girl he (still, somehow) loved take the blame for all involved, regardless of it obviously being her idea.

"It was Lily Evans, Professor, I'm sure of it," he said sharply.

Sylvie whipped her head around to glare at him, but didn't say a word.

"Is this true, Miss Lupin?" McGonagall asked.

"I will neither confirm nor deny that statement, Professor, and there's no way to prove it. He didn't see anything to make that true."

"Professor, I _know _it was Evans, she's had it in for me and Pr—James ever since--" Sirius began loudly, but again, McGonagall cut him off.

"Miss Lupin is correct, Mr. Black, there is no proof and if she does not want to reveal the identity, that is her choice."

Sirius huffed and Sylvie looked relieved.

"Now for a befitting punishment for both of you," McGonagall said.

"_Both _of us?" Sirius barked. "What have I done? I'm the victim here!"

Sylvie snorted and he glared at her. "You hexed me, you oaf!"

Sirius looked at her incredulously. "You---or one of your friends—put _love potion _in my drink at dinner, caused my girlfriend to go insane, caused _me _to propose to Allison Bennett, then you act like you've done nothing wrong!"

"Oh, will you stop being a child? It's not like you were crippled, physically at least," Sylvie said, rolling her eyes.

"I had _boils _all over me!" Sirius shouted.

"Well, if you were_ stupid_ enough not to watch your own drink carefully, then you _deserved_ it, didn't you?" Sylvie shot right back. Sirius' mouth gaped at Sylvie's use of his own words against him.

"The two of you are absolutely unbelievable!" McGonagall shouted, making them both jump. "Forty points from Gryffindor each and detentions for both of you!"

"_Detention_!" Sylvie shrieked. "But Professor, I'm a _prefect_! I can't get detention!"

"You can and you will, Miss Lupin, as much as it pains me to do so," McGonagall said earnestly.

Sylvie was shocked silent.

Sirius was so used to getting detentions that he hardly cared, but he was still indignant. "I haven't even _done _anything, really…" Sirius brooded.

"You hexed another student right in front of me and your attitude has been, as always, unacceptable, Mr. Black," McGonagall snapped.

"We wouldn't even _be _here if it weren't for her! _She_ played a malicious prank for obvious personal reasons—" he began.

"I care not about the how's and why's of this situation, Mr. Black. That will be for you to figure out between the two of you. All I need from you is to show up at the fifth floor corridor at 9 o' clock tomorrow night. That will be all for tonight, you're both to go back to the common room."

They left together in steely silence. The idea of a detention together made them both feel a bit sick.


	14. The Detention Heard Round the World

**The Detention Heard Round the World**

Sirius was the first to speak once they reached the corridor. "I really cannot believe—" he began acidly, but Sylvie cut him off.

"Don't you dare speak to me right now, or I will throttle you, I swear I will," Sylvie said through gritted teeth. She was close to tears.

"Well, it is _your _fault, Sylvie," he said tauntingly.

She turned around and socked him in the arm. "It's _your _fault that you're such a stupid prat!" she said, feeling the tears coming, unable to stop them. She turned away to wipe her eyes. The worst part was that she_ knew_ it was her own fault, she didn't even need him to tell her.

Sirius immediately knew she was crying and it pained him. He instantly felt terrible for egging her on. He knew that what was really bothering her was the detention. Her record had previously been spotless. "It's just a detention, Sylvie, it won't kill you," he said in what he thought was a comforting voice, despite the anger he still felt towards her.

She glared at him. "_Just _a detention?! Maybe to you, Sirius, things like this don't matter, but for five years I have worked _so _hard to maintain a perfect record and stellar grades! I really put my heart into it and now it's been ruined! So, don't try to tell me that it's _just _a detention, because it's a lot more than that, at least to people who care about things other than chasing girls and Quidditch!"

With that, she turned and began walking again. He kept a safe distance from her, but they reached the common room at the same time. He stood back and allowed her to step through the portrait hole before him. She barely noticed; she was so nervous about having to face Callahan.

As she predicted, her boyfriend looked unnerved upon seeing her. He immediately approached her and took hold of her elbow. "We need to talk," he mumbled in her ear.

She nodded and allowed him to pull her back out of the common room, but not before she could see Mary bearing down upon Sirius. She even heard the beginning of a large-scale, shrill fight, but she couldn't even muster up a shred of amusement from it, depressed as she was about the consequences of her prank-gone-awry.

Night had long fallen upon the castle grounds. Callahan led Sylvie to an empty classroom, taking care to shut and sound-proof the door. Once this was done, he turned to her. She looked up at him apprehensively, knowing she was going to be scolded.

"Vanessa told me about the prank," he said quietly.

Sylvie raised her eyebrows. She couldn't get a read on whether or not he was angry with her, but she was thankful that at least Vanessa had saved her the trouble of having to rehash the story to Callahan.

"I first want to say, cheers on humiliating Black, I think he's had it coming for a while," Callahan said, slowly and evenly. Sylvie could sense that there was more to come, however, and she was right. "But I think it would really be thick of me not to read between the lines."

Sylvie sighed and folded her arms in front of her, not knowing what to say. She couldn't meet her boyfriend's eyes anymore, and she was too upset to fight with him. She just shook her head.

"You still like him, don't you?" Callahan said firmly.

Sylvie's lifted her head slowly to look at him. She didn't have the energy to lie anymore, but, more for her own reasons than those concerning Callahan, she didn't affirm the accusation either. She just looked up into his deep blue eyes sadly.

Callahan shook his head. "Don't look at me like that. You went to an awful lot of effort just to teach him a lesson for something that didn't really even involve you," he said shortly.

Sylvie' sighed, feeling frustrated. "Youaren't a girl, Cal. You don't know what it's like to be hurt and humiliated by someone like Sirius Black."

Callahan narrowed his eyes. "Neither do you," he said coolly.

Sylvie blinked. "No…but I've seen it first-hand too many times. I was only trying to be compassionate to a friend."

Callahan said nothing immediately, but glared at her formidably. If she was upset before, that glare made her feel devastated. If she were in her right mind, she would have made a snappy comment about how Callahan had punched Sirius off his broom a year before, but in her heart she knew that she was the one who'd done wrong this time, especially by her handsome boyfriend. She could feel the tears welling up in her eyes once again.

"I swear to God, Sylvie," he said in a low voice. "How many times do things like this have to keep happening before I wise up? I love you, but there's only so much I can take."

She couldn't even look at him as the tears fell.

Callahan exhaled and shook his head. He was torn between his sensibility and his love for Sylvie, and he hated nothing more than when she cried. Love won out. He went to her and hugged her and she sobbed harder than he'd ever seen before. They were silent until she calmed down enough to speak.

"So, what happened when you went to McGonagall's office?" he asked, pulling away from her with his large hands clasping her shoulders.

Sylvie knew she would have to tell him sooner or later, but she felt a pit in her stomach. "I decided to take the blame for everyone, since it was my idea. Sirius and I both got forty points off and…a detention." The tears returned slightly when she uttered the word.

Callahan's mouth dropped open and he enveloped her in his arms once again. "Oh, Sylvie," he said softly. Sylvie was suddenly overcome by a wave of thankfulness that someone understood her anguish as fully as Callahan did.

She threw her arms around his neck (as best she could, for he was so much taller than she was), and held on tightly, inhaling his masculine, soapy scent, but it didn't comfort her as it usually would have.

"Do you want me to talk to McGonagall, maybe see if there's some way I can get you out of it?" he asked softly into her ear.

Sylvie shook her head. "You know as well as I do that that won't work, Cal, McGonagall's tough as nails. And even so, I feel awfully guilty, and I guess now I just have to deal with the consequences."

Callahan sat her on a desk in front of him and surveyed her face very closely. "So…can we put the issues with Black to rest now?" he asked in an uncharacteristically uncertain voice. "Surely, after this, you couldn't possibly…"

Sylvie looked deep into his eyes, then deep into herself for the answer, which was inevitably _yes_, but she couldn't bring herself to face it on a conscious level, especially when she thought of Sirius hexing her. That had been another nail in the coffin of their tumultuous relationship, which wasn't even a friendship anymore.

Callahan's eyes were so deep and blue and soft that Sylvie felt lost for a moment. She didn't want to lie to him anymore.

Something clicked in her mind at that moment. She thought of all the pain that sneaking around with and not being honest about her feelings for Sirius had caused, in her brother, in herself and now in her boyfriend, who clearly cared about her more than she cared about him. And now, she'd landed herself in detention.

She knew it had all gone too far. She needed to grow up, and she was going to do just what she'd said, deal with the consequences. Plus, it was already mid-May. Callahan would be gone to London in a month's time to begin Auror training, and she still had two more years of schooling. This end was inevitable, and she figured she might as well do it when she was already as low as she could get. She slid off the desk and faced him.

"Cal," she said softly but firmly, looking into those blue eyes. "I think…I think we should end this before we get even more hurt."

He felt as though she'd slapped him. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean that you're graduating in a month, and I have O.W.L.'s coming up very soon, and with everything that's been happening…I just think I need to be on my own right now."

Callahan looked at her incredulously. "So…is this because…Black…"

"No! Cal, for once, can't you just listen to me without having preconceived notions? It doesn't have anything to do with anyone else!" she said exasperatedly, tears gathering in her eyes. "You never listen to me, you always just assume."

Callahan shook his head, and they were both quiet for a few moments. He thought about what was happening. It was true that he was graduating very soon, but he'd never given any thought to what would happen between Sylvie and him when this time came. He suddenly felt very stupid; had he been considering marriage when she still had two years of Hogwarts left? He knew she was being reasonable, as always, no matter how much it broke his heart.

Callahan sighed, in a way that Sylvie, with a wrench of her heart, could only discern as defeated. "You're right, Sylvie," he said. "We're both too young to try to carry this on, and if you need to be on your own, I understand."

Sylvie began to cry as she hugged Callahan sincerely. She would miss him, but clarity of mind was more important.

Callahan was already feeling the difficulty of being in her presence when he knew it was over. "Let's get back, shall we?" he said gently.

She sniffled and nodded her head. She knew it was for the best, but she couldn't help feeling lower than ever now that she'd finally broken up with him. This fresh new pain, now coupled with the dread of her impending detention the next night, made her want to crawl under her covers and cry herself to sleep, which was exactly what she intended to do.

Sylvie, however, had forgotten entirely about the fight that was surely raging between Mary and Sirius in the common room. She was swiftly reminded when, upon entering the common room with Callahan behind her, she was shaken back to attention by a shrill yell.

"That is it, Sirius Black, we are THROUGH!" Mary shrieked. The common room was silent. Upon realizing that there were two more people in the room, Mary whipped around to look at Sylvie, who was in no mood for another argument.

"And YOU!" Mary yelled, rounding on Sylvie now. "Who do you think you are?"

"What are you talking about, Mary?" Sylvie said wearily.

"Well you're the one who poisoned him, aren't you? What gave you the right to poison my boyfriend?"

Sylvie shook her head, trying to keep the anger now bubbling dully in her chest at bay. "Your _ex-_boyfriend, from the sounds of it," she said slowly and quietly, pronouncing each syllable emphatically. "And I hardly believe a love potion, used for a harmless joke, is _poison_, Mary, or were you too busy figuring out who to date to help with your social climbing to pay attention in first year potions class?"

Mary's eyes narrowed. "You ruined my relationship, and now you insult me?" she shrieked. "What kind of person are you?"

"_I've _ruined your relationship?" Sylvie said, raising her eyebrows but keeping her voice even. "I'm not the one who went behind your back with another girl, am I?"

Sylvie glanced at Sirius, who glared at her in a way that was both apprehensive and pleading; he surely didn't want to rehash the berating he'd just received. But Sylvie ignored him. She suddenly felt all the anger and irritation and frustration she had felt towards Mary since Sirius had begun to date her. She had never liked Mary, and had always thought her rather obnoxious and immature, but these qualities seemed to be magnified as soon as she saw them walking down the hall together with Sirius' arm around her shoulders. Her mindset was becoming vicious; she was certainly not herself after the humiliation of being given detention and the emotional taxation of just having broken up with her boyfriend of over a year, and she was in no mood to deal with someone as ridiculous as Mary.

"But maybe if you weren't such a déclassé, insufferable, loudmouthed psychotic, you'd be able to better hold onto your significant other," Sylvie delivered in an acidic, harsh tone that she'd never used before.

Mary looked taken aback for a split second, but she swiftly grabbed her wand and pointed it at Sylvie so quickly that Sylvie had no time to prepare herself. She barely even heard Mary say the incantation before she felt a stinging pain on her cheek. Her hand flew to the spot and came away with a trickle of blood. Mary had made a shallow laceration on Sylvie's face.

Sylvie automatically wanted to retaliate, but she thought of what her mother would say if she knew her daughter had been in a duel in the middle of the Gryffindor common room. It was bad enough that she already had a detention; she didn't need to make the scene worse than it already was. She looked daggers at Mary, who was looking quite pleased with herself, and turned to go up to the dormitory. Callahan tried to hold her back, but she shook him off. "It's fine. Good night," she said shortly.

To her surprise, Sirius also tried to say something to her in the wake of the scene. He placed his hand on her arm and in a second she realized that he hadn't touched her since Christmas. But she recovered quickly. She detached herself and walked past him without a word, her hand covering the cut on her face. She slammed the dormitory door behind her.

The cut itself was easy to mend; Sylvie was extremely interested in becoming a Healer after school. She muttered the incantation and lightly ran her wand over the cut after cleaning it with another spell. She examined herself in the bathroom mirror after she was finished. There was not even the slightest trace of a cut on her pale cheek.

She sighed and looked at her reflection, feeling thoroughly dejected. She looked closely at her eyes, lips, cheekbones, the light sprinkling of freckles across her nose and cheeks. She was pretty, this she knew, this she'd always been told. She'd never really cared. She'd always been content just to be happy and to be with the ones she cared for. What did beauty matter if she was happy?

Now, she couldn't say she was happy. She was in a right mess, if she were to be honest with herself, which she couldn't help doing when she was staring at her own reflection in point-blank range. She thought about Sirius touching her arm in the common not twenty minutes before, and about the tingle she felt in her spine at the contact after such a long time of determined hatred of him. She remembered (what she could, anyway) of kissing him on her living room couch on Christmas Eve, the last embers in the fireplace burning low, barely illuminating the room, his large, strong hands on her thighs, his distinct, soapy smell. She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to ignore the quickening of her heartbeat.

And now there was sure to be mutual dislike between them, especially after she'd played that stupid prank. What a mess! She thought about what had started it all. She remembered that horrible rage bubbling inside her, the product of Sirius' unspeakably cruel, thoughtless and rash betrayal of her brother and inadvertent murder attempt, and also a product of the building up of too much stress from her daft, drunken promise at Christmas. And on top of all of this, her O.W.L.'s were quickly approaching.

She'd kept her promise, in an inadvertent way. After allowing herself to think freely about the last time they'd kissed, which seemed like ages ago, she knew she still wanted him, now more than ever that he was out of her reach and she was the available one, to some extent.

But was he really out of her reach? She looked at her pretty reflection closely again. She was surely prettier than Mary Asher, anyone would agree, as well as all the other girls Sirius had been dating. She could have him in a moment, if she wanted, she was certain of it.

She snorted and shook her head again, awed by her own vanity and ridiculousness. She couldn't possibly stomach jumping into something with him now, it hadn't even been an hour since she'd broen up with Callahan. But she couldn't deny it anymore. To her amazement, through it all, she still wanted Sirius Black. But she couldn't just drop everything and go running back to him because he _had_ wronged her in some horrible ways, and she couldn't have him think he could just get away with anything.

She thought back to before Sirius had ever even kissed her. He had been a wonderful friend, always making her laugh. She thought of the time during her first year when Mulciber had hexed her, and how Sirius had immediately and unquestioningly come to her aide. She smiled to herself when she remembered how he said that he still thought she was pretty, even with a swollen nose.

She knew that he wasn't and would never be a bad person. He had serious issues with his temper and his self-control, but he was good, through and through.

Sylvie decided then that she would be civil to him during their detention tomorrow (if nothing else, the dreadful event would be much less painful if they weren't ignoring each other), and would eventually try to get back to the place where they were before kissing had complicated everything. Try as she might, Sylvie was just not happy without Sirius in her life.

---

Watching Mary lash out against and cut Sylvie had brought Sirius the closest to harming a girl than he'd ever been. Regardless of how angry he'd been with Sylvie, and he was still slightly perturbed, more to his ego than anywhere else, he never wanted to see her seriously hurt. He already felt immensely guilty for hexing her in McGonagall's office, on top of everything else he'd done to her.

Surprisingly, the news of the ending of Sylvie and Callahan's relationship had failed to reach him, for he had his own problems to deal with the next day, the day of the detention.

He was still dealing with the repercussions of what he'd done under the influence of Lily Evans' (he was sure it was hers) love potion. He still felt extremely indignant about how he had been one upped by Sylvie Lupin, of all people. Even James, Remus and Peter smirked at him maddeningly whenever a girl (or boy) said in a high pitched voice, "Sirius, are you going to propose to me today?" This would then set him off into a surly mood for a while, because above all else, Sirius Black hated feeling indignant.

"You're not going to like hearing this, mate, but I think this might be good for you," Remus told him that afternoon, sitting in Charms before the class began, after Sirius had had to endure another chorus of mockery in the corridor. "You were getting a bit cocky, there."

"Shut it," Sirius said warningly, not looking at his friend.

But James and Remus both snorted. They had found Sylvie's prank to be quite funny. Everyone did, except of course Holly and Sirius.

"I mean it, you lot, cut it out!" he snapped.

They both rolled their eyes. "He just doesn't like not being top _dog_ anymore, don't you, ickle Padfoot?" James cooed mockingly.

"Yes, his ego's now gone from completely overblown to about the size of a normal person's!" Remus said, laughing.

"If you two don't shut your mouths, I swear I'll…"

"Propose to us?" James said, he and Remus barely able to contain their laughter.

Sirius made a shuffling move to throttle James from across the desk, but Professor Flitwick had just entered the classroom and was about to begin class.

Sirius did his best not to speak to his two friends for the entire class, and made to leave earlier than them, but they easily caught up to him.

"Come on Padfoot, we were just kidding," Remus said.

"Yeah! Remember the time Evans turned my eyebrows blue? You ribbed me for that for almost a week!" James piped up.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Fine," he said shortly. His friends knew him well enough to take this as the best confirmation they were going to get that he wasn't upset with them.

"What I can't believe is that Holly attacked Sylvie in the common room," James said.

Remus shook his head darkly. "She used a very dangerous jinx, it looked like, wasn't Sylvie bleeding?" he asked.

Sirius heart sank as he remembered this event. "Yeah, she was," he said shortly. "I've never come so close to actually wanting to physically harm a girl."

James snorted. "Holly's not a girl, she's something far more mad and evil," he said.

Remus nodded. "Too right, you are. At least you don't have to date her anymore, then, right Sirius?"

Sirius nodded. "I would have to be really thick to want to get tangled up in that again," he said. "She was a good shag though," he added under his breath.

James and Remus both rolled their eyes and didn't comment. Remus knew that Sirius still had feelings for Sylvie, but he swore that if Sirius ever tried making comments like that about her, he would do a lot more than force-feed him love potion in front of the whole school.

"Any clue what the detention's going to be?" James asked.

"Nope," Sirius said breezily. "McGonagall told us we have to meet in the fifth floor corridor at nine o'clock tonight."

"It can't be anything too nasty then, plus Sylvie is McGonagall's darling prefect and the top of her class, she wouldn't give her anything awful to do," James said reassuringly.

"Maybe you can even work out your issues, learn to be a little civil to each other. It's getting awfully awkward to keep trying to be friendly to both of you," Remus commented.

Now it was Sirius' turn to roll his eyes. "Yeah, we'll see," he said.

He was torn between his dignity and his anger with Sylvie, and his constant desire for her that just refused to abate, no matter how hopeless the situation became.

Sirius was in an odd mood for the rest of the day before the detention. He half dreaded it and half looked forward to it, because of the alone time he knew it would afford Sylvie and him. He barely noticed that Sylvie and Knightley were sitting on opposite sides of the common room, instead of together, like always. He also failed to notice that Vanessa kept shooting odd side-glances and Sylvie, as if waiting for her to burst into tears.

Around ten minutes to nine, Sylvie and Sirius both stood up to go to their detention, awkwardly meeting at the portrait hole.

"After you," Sirius said softly. He was reminded of the time Sylvie had bumped into him on her way back into the common room the previous year, when he'd told her to meet him there after hours.

Strangely, Sylvie was reminded of the same thing. She blushed slightly and said, "Thanks," quietly and walked out ahead of him.

The silence between them on their walk up to the fifth floor corridor was even more awkward. Sylvie couldn't stand it for long. She had to say something.

"So…how was your day?" she said briskly.

Sirius looked at her, shocked. He'd expected to hear the usual string of insults from her, and had been ready to retaliate, but she'd thrown him for a loop with her civil question.

"You haven't got anything nasty to say to me, then? I'm shocked," he said, somewhat coolly.

"What would the use be? I think we've hurt each other sufficiently up to now, don't you agree?" she said dryly.

He was even more shocked. She was being civil to him for the first time in several months. "I…I guess so," he said, the gears in his head turning. "It makes the detention much less painful if you're going through it with someone you don't hate."

She nodded. They'd reached their destination to find Filch waiting for them with rags and buckets. He told them they were to polish the many suits of armor in the hallway, of course without the use of magic.

Sylvie sighed as soon as Filch had left. "Well, this is depressing," she said lowly, picking up a rag. "And by the way, I never hated you."

He raised his eyebrows as he began to polish. "You sure could have fooled me," he said. He was growing more pleased with the way this detention was going by the minute.

"I was upset, and rightly so," she said sternly. "But I will admit, that prank was out of hand." She paused thoughtfully. "But still very funny, now that I think about it."

"You _would_ think so," he said testily.

"Well, you were getting a little bit horrible, Sirius, you can't just treat people badly and get away with it," she said reasonably.

Sirius grunted. She could tell he was still sore about it, and she didn't like it. "Listen, I'm sorry, I really am. It was out of line," she said softly, almost cooing.

He hadn't heard he speak that softly to him since Christmas. He shook his head, grinning despite himself in the dimly lit corridor. "I guess it's alright, everyone's got to have their day," he said begrudgingly.

They worked in silence for a long while after that as they worked for what seemed like hours. Sylvie was thinking about how to tell him about having broken up with Callahan, and she decided to just do it outright.

"So…I've broken up with Callahan," she blurted out.

Sirius dropped his rag. It fell to the floor with a loud smack. "You've _what?_" he said loudly.

"Shh!" she said in the echoing corridor. "Yes, it's done."

"How come?" he asked, unable to take his eyes off of her.

She continued to polish without looking at him. "That's none of your business," she said quietly.

He didn't know what to think of this news, so he said nothing, but he couldn't keep his emotions in for long. He saw a window of opportunity and he was going to take it.

"You know I still…like you a whole lot, right? Even after everything that's happened?"

She stopped cleaning to look at him, then began again. "Well, I still like you a lot too, for whatever reason," she said quietly.

He stared at her still, then dropped his rag once again and went to kiss her. He felt very elated all of a sudden.

She was not expecting this sudden advance, and let out a yelp of surprise as he came towards her, and she stumbled backwards into a suit of armor, which fell into the one next to it, which in turn fell into the next suit, and so on they fell, a good seven of them, like dominoes. The clanging of metal on stone was deafening and Sylvie and Sirius could do nothing but watch in horror as the row of suits fell.

Once it was over, the clanging seemed to echo in the corridors. To further horrify them, they heard Filch's footsteps and angry voice coming towards them.

"Oh no! We must've woken up the entire castle! What are we going to do?" she whispered, terrified.

Sirius was much more adept at handling this kind of situation. "Get on the floor. Act like you've fainted," he said in a low voice.

"What?" she hissed.

"Just do it, now!" he said, gently pushing on her shoulder.

She was apprehensive, but she did as he said, and feigned fainting, laying on the floor just as Flich approached them, accompanied by Professor Flitwick, whose office was nearby.

"What the devil has happened here?" Filch fumed.

Sirius was kneeling down next to Sylvie. "She's fainted, sir," he said, feeling her forehead with the back of his hand.

"Oh dear!" squeaked Professor Flitwick. Sirius was grateful that he had arrived as well, for he knew that all the Professors loved Sylvie, as opposed to Filch, who hated all students unconditionally. "How did that happen?"

Sirius thought fast. "I think she inhaled too much of the fumes from the polish," he said in a voice of deep concern. It was all Sylvie could do to keep from laughing at his audacity. "She's never gotten a detention before, she's just not used to this kind of stress. She fell into one of the suits of armor and then they all fell down."

Filch began to retort with obvious disbelief, but Professor Flitwick fell for it entirely. With a wave of his wand, he fixed the suits of armor to their upright positions, then knelt down next to Sylvie, who decided that this would be a good time to "come to."

"What…what's happened?" she said, trying to sound groggy, although she wasn't nearly as good at deceiving teachers as Sirius was. "My head hurts," she added for posterity. Sirius looked at her proudly from behind Flitwick.

"But surely you're well enough now to finish polishing, Sylvie? We've got to finish our detention…" Sirius said, again in a voice of utmost concern.

"I…I guess so," Sylvie said, sitting up and swaying rather convincingly.

"No, no, no!" Flitwick said. "Mr. Black, I think you should see Miss Lupin back to Gryffindor tower immediately, she obviously needs bed-rest. _How _she got detention in the first place is beyond me…"

"But professor!" Filch yelped. "They haven't finished…"

"Argus, you needn't nitpick, I'm sure they've learned their lesson by now, it's nearly eleven o'clock," Professor Flitwick said dismissively. "Go on then," he said as Sirius helped Sylvie up of the ground and continuing to support her. "Off to bed, both of you."

"Good night, Professor," Sylvie said, still upholding her dazed voice.

Sirius snaked his arm further around her waist than was necessary for supporting her, smirking to himself. As soon as she was sure they were out of sight and earshot of Professor Flitwick and Filch, she shoved him away as he laughed.

"You are insufferable," she said, unable to keep the grin from her face despite what had just happened.

"Well you, love, were brilliant!" he gushed. "I can't believe how well you held your own back there! And that bit about your head hurting! I thought for sure we'd have to finish out the detention, but wow! It's useful to have you around for these types of things, I'd forgotten you're the favorite of all the professors."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't get used to it, it's never happening again," she said dryly. "And I cannot believe you tried to kiss me! It hasn't even been two days since I broke up with Callahan, why would I want to kiss you already?"

About ten snarky comments in response to this ran though Sirius' head, but he held them in. "Sorry about that," he said repressively. "I was just happy to hear you're back on the market."

She snorted. "Back on the market," she mumbled. "You're being arrogant and presumptuous as always, Sirius. Who says I'm going to want to date you after everything that's happened in the last few months?"

He rolled his eyes. "Come on, Sylvie, you said you still liked me," he said, more softly.

She sighed, stopping to look at him. "I do, but…I have O.W.L.'s coming up, and…I just need some time to myself," she said more seriously, looking into his dark eyes. "We're just going to have to take it one day at a time."

Sirius felt very impatient, but nodded, wishing to be respectful of her. "Alright, Silvery, whatever you say," he said, enveloping her in a strong hug, which she returned wholeheartedly.

They were almost at the portrait hole, and right before the walked in, Sirius leant down and whispered in her ear, "But you know we'll end up together, like I've always said. It's inevitable now," he said, grinning that lopsided grin that she'd refused to love until this moment.

She shook her head as he again let her walk through the portrait hole before him. "Prat," she mumbled, unable to keep the smile off her face. Despite everything bad that had happened in the past few months, Sylvie felt better having Sirius back in her life.


	15. The Gravity of a Turning Point

**AN: Disregard the last version of this chapter. I've become reinvested in this story and I've decided not to digress from my original plan. So sorry for the wait, all of you who are still interested. Most of it is the same, with a few tweaks here and there, but the ending is entirely different.**

**The Gravity of a Turning Point**

Sylvie found the month very peaceful, aside from her frantic O.W.L. studying. It was nice not to have the burden of her relationship on her back. She felt as though she could finally breathe and sort out her feelings for Sirius, which was a refreshing change.

But she saw very little of him, or anyone, as she immersed herself so that she could study effectively, spurred on to study even harder so as to redeem herself from her detention. When the time for the tests finally came, Sylvie barely spoke to anyone, and was a frazzled mess throughout the entire duration. When they were over, however, she felt as though the weight of the world was off her shoulders, and she felt that she could finally let go of her worries, at least until July or August, when the results would be in.

During this time, Sirius waited, patiently, as it would seem to onlookers, but inside, whenever he was around her, he felt as thought he would spontaneously combust on the spot. It was almost too much to be so _close _to someone he'd wanted for so damned long. He couldn't help but feel some kind of sick satisfaction and triumph whenever he saw Callahan Knightley walking around the castle looking downtrodden. In a deep part of himself, though, he felt sorry for the other boy, as he himself had gone through the same thing for over a year now. But soon it would be his time, and he would show Sylvie that he truly loved her more than anyone in the world.

But the winds of change were howling outside the castle, as a dark, evil force was beginning to attract a following, and worse, set up targets for revenge and for gain. A turning point was coming, one that would turn children into adults. The times were changing.

One dreadfully overcast morning, when there was little over a week left before everyone would go home for the summer holidays, Sylvie, Remus, Sirius, James, Peter, and Vanessa were on their way to breakfast.

"This weather is just dreadful," Sylvie said dully. She hated the rain, especially in June, when the weather had finally warmed up.

"I know. I checked, it's supposed to rain all week," Vanessa replied. "Thank God Quidditch season is over." The Gryffinfor team, led by Callahan, had won another stunning House Cup victory. "Oh my, I never thought I'd hear myself say that," she mused.

Sylvie looked out the castle's large windows in the corridor, feeling somewhat melancholy, even though she had no reason to be.

Sirius, who was walking beside her, sensed her unease. "All right, Silvery?" he asked quietly, touching her back discreetly.

She sighed and nodded. "I just can't shake this bad feeling I've got," she said, looking up at him. "It's probably nothing, just gloom from the weather. I'm being silly." She shook her head, smiling.

Sirius glanced at her again, then nodded. He knew that sometimes Sylvie would have "feelings" sometimes. She was very intuitive, and the fact that she now had a bad one was troubling to him.

As soon as they turned a corner, they saw their Head of House, Professor McGonagall, walking towards them, looking grim.

"Uh oh, what have we done now, Prongs?" Sirius muttered to his friend, who grinned.

But Sylvie's face drained of color when she saw McGonagall. She knew this could mean nothing good.

"Mr. and Miss Lupin, I need you to come with me to the Headmaster's office," she said, her voice so grave that even Sirius and James dropped their smirks and looked concerned.

"Of course, Professor," Remus said evenly.

He and Sylvie dutifully followed her to the gargoyle that was the entrance to Dumbledore's office. Once they reached the spacious circular room, the atmosphere was very somber. Sylvie barely had the wherewithal to wonder at her surroundings; she'd never been to the Headmaster's office before.

"Mr. Lupin, Miss Lupin," Dumbledore said, nodding to each of them respectively, his voice even grimmer than McGonagall's. "Please be seated."

They took seats in the chairs facing Dumbledore's desk. Remus had now caught onto the somber atmosphere as well. They siblings glanced at each other, their faces apprehensive.

"I'm afraid that I have bad news," Dumbledore said. "I've just spoken with your mother. A few days ago, while working for the Ministry, your father…went missing."

Sylvie blinked. Their father worked for the Magical Law Enforcement Squad. Sylvie immediately thought back to a conversation she'd overheard during the Christmas holidays.

_"But John, aren't you the least bit concerned about all this?" her mother said._

_"Of course I am, dear, but I can't just abandon my duty to the Ministry, you know this," her father replied._

_"But what about Greyback? Look at what he did to Remus as a child, can you imagine what will happen to you? You're an adult, John!"_

_"I know, I know. I'll do my best to be careful, but there are things out there that are bigger than us, bigger than all of us. The Ministry's been abuzz with it, especially the Aurors. If there's something I can do to help, than I'm not just going to sit here and watch it pass me by…"_

Sylvie was brought back to the present by her brother's worried voice.

"But sir, surely…surely they'll find him? Surely they're looking?" Remus said, trying to hide his panic.

Dumbledore bowed his head. "An extensive search of the entire country was performed, and your mother didn't want to worry you," he said somberly. "Children, your father was found dead this morning."

His words hung in the air. Sylvie felt her breathing quicken and her throat swell up. She couldn't bring herself to look at her brother.

"How…how…?" Remus sputtered. "No. I don't believe it," he said, shaking his head.

Dumbledore nodded sadly, pain evident on his face. "I'm sorry. You should know that your father gave his life to fight against dark forces that have been collecting outside these walls for some time. He played a huge and honorable part in stopping those forces."

"Greyback?" Sylvie rasped out, barely able to breath. "I…I heard…them talking…" She felt her surroundings blur and she slumped down in her chair, fainting.

When she came to, Remus and Dumbledore were standing on either side of her. She had been placed back upward in her chair.

"You should go to the hospital wing, Sylvie," Remus said, his voice breaking.

She felt like she was suffocating. She needed to leave. "No," she spat. "No, I can't." With that, before either of them could stop her, she ran out the door, down the stairs, and back to Gryffindor Tower, blind to all of her surroundings, where she collapsed on her bed and cried until her throat was raw.

Sylvie had always been very close with her father, even though his work kept him busy. She was drawn to him most after Remus was bitten. While her mother was constantly distraught about Remus' condition, and constantly under stress, her father had helped her to understand the reasons why they couldn't pay as much attention to her anymore, and why Remus was still a boy, but was now very different. She remembered the last time she'd seen him, waving goodbye to her in January on Platform 9¾ as she and Remus boarded the train to go back to school. Had she said a proper goodbye? She didn't even remember her last words to him. She'd never speak to him again, never see him again…all because of these 'dark forces' that everyone kept talking about.

She only wanted sleep, but it wouldn't come. So she cried alone, huddled under her covers to protect herself from the cruel outside world.

Remus, unlike his sister, couldn't bear to be alone. He'd stayed and spoken to the headmaster for a while longer, whilst he explained that their mother would be at Hogwarts tomorrow to collect them and bring them home with her. He offered again his deepest condolences, and asked Remus if there was anything he needed. Of course, Remus replied that there wasn't anything. He thanked the Headmaster for his concern and walked numbly down the stairs and into the corridor. His friends would surely have finished breakfast by now; he headed for the Gryffindor common room.

There they all were. The room thankfully wasn't overcrowded. They automatically noticed the grave, stony expression on Remus' face. Vanessa stood and went to him.

"Remus, what is it? What's happened? Sylvie's up in the dormitory, she won't talk to me…" she asked.

"Our…our father's been found dead," he said, hating the way the words felt when they rolled off his tongue and sat in the air before him.

Vanessa's mouth dropped open as Remus lowered himself into an empty chair, one hand covering his face. He wasn't crying, wouldn't allow himself to show that much weakness, especially in front of Vanessa.

"He was on a mission of some sort for the Ministry, and they said he went missing…they found him this morning," he said, struggling to keep his voice steady. Vanessa sat next to him with her hand on his arm. "Mum's coming to get us tomorrow."

"Mate," James said, his voice still ringing with shock. "If there's anything we can do, you know you just have to say the word…"

"Prongs is right, mate," Sirius said. "We're always here."

Remus just nodded, still not looking any of them in the eye.

Hours passed, and it was soon time for lunch. The common room gradually emptied out so that it was only the five of them.

At one point, Remus couldn't stand the atmosphere anymore, and went up to the boys' dormitory. Vanessa had followed him apprehensively at first, but he grasped her hand and brought her with him. The others let them go without comment.

The rain continued to fall, the sky a melancholy dark gray. No one had seen Sylvie all day.

Sirius realized this. He wanted to let her have her time alone, but he was worried about her. He hated to think of her dealing with this all by herself.

"I need to get to her," he spoke aloud, coming to a conclusion.

Peter and James were still floored by the news. "She'll come down, Padfoot, give her time," James said heavily.

Sirius shook his head. "No, she won't. She needs me, I know her."

"Well, it's the girl's dormitory, and you're a boy. You can't go up there, the stairs'll turn into a slide," Peter said.

Sirius glared at him, but knew he was right. He'd already worked this out in his head.

"Yes, I'm a boy, but I'm also a dog," he said simply, double checking to make sure they were the only ones left in the common room. "I'm changing, one of you open the door for me when I do."

"No!" James sputtered. "Have you lost your mind? You'll let Sylvie know our secret!" James said, but it fell on deaf ears as Sirius' tall body shrank into that of a shaggy, big black dog. His mind became even more of a blur than it already was.

In this form, he heard James and Peter's protests, but he went to the girls' dormitory door and scratched at it with his paws. Finally, Peter opened it and he rushed up the stairs, which, thankfully, didn't turn into a slide. He realized when he reached a landing that he didn't know exactly which door was Sylvie's. He sat panting for a moment, listening. He heard muffled sounds coming from a room with the door ajar. It had to be her, no one else was around.

He knew this had to be quick. He nudged the door open with his nose and noticed that there was a bed in this room with the curtains drawn, and he heard more of the muffled sniffling he'd heard from the landing.

Sylvie's head shot up. She'd heard the door open, and now there was another presence in the room, she was sure of it. And was that…panting? She slowly and cautiously opened the curtains around her bed and looked out to see a great black dog sitting by the door. She gasped, feeling faint again, clutching her heart with her hand.

When he saw the look on Sylvie's face, he realized that he was still a dog. He hadn't thought this far into his plan. He figured he might as well get the shock out now rather than wait until later. He swiftly changed from his dog form back to himself.

Sylvie blinked once, then whimpered in fright.

"It's me, Silvery," Sirius said softly, stepping towards her tentatively.

She shook her head. "What did I just see?" she asked, her dull voice quivering.

"I'm an Animagus. So are James and Peter, we did it so we could accompany Remus when the full moon comes around. The wolf can't hurt us when we're animals," he explained quickly and gently. "Is that too much for you right now?"

Her eyes filled with tears, thoughts of her father filling her head once again. She nodded, looking down at her lap as the tears fell.

Sirius went to her bed and sat down beside her. He put his arms around her and held her close, feeling her body tremble in his arms.

"Oh, Sirius!" she sobbed, unable to control herself. "He's gone, I can't believe he's gone! I didn't even get to say goodbye!"

Sirius was silent. He held her close, allowing her to get out all of her sobs without interference. He was steadfastly willing to be her rock. Nothing in the world could have made him move from that spot.

After an indiscriminate amount of time, she became silent as well. The only sound in the room was her ragged breathing. Sirius lightly kissed her hair. He hated himself, absolutely hated himself for thinking about it, but this was the closest they'd been in almost six months.

Slowly, she sat up and looked at him. Her face was splotchy, but somehow she was still beautiful. They were sitting very close together, his arm was still around her back.

"Sirius…" she said in the softest voice.

"Yes?" he breathed.

She didn't want to think anymore. Didn't want to feel, didn't want to feel alone anymore. The one she'd always wanted was sitting next to her, on her bed right at this moment. She only wanted him, no one else. And she just couldn't bear the thoughts haunting her at this moment. She knew he could make it all go away, if only for a little while.

"Will you kiss me?" she asked.

It was his turn to be shocked. But the look in her heartbroken, tearstained eyes was too much for him to ignore or refuse. He sensed her need to be taken away; he'd felt it before too, when his parents were at their harshest, and found refuge in many different (female) forms.

Sylvie was so different from them. She was the one he'd always wanted, and now he had her, but not like he wanted. Not like this. He placed his large hand on her face, wicking away a stray tear with his thumb, then combed his fingers back through her fair hair. She closed her eyes and sighed. He noticed goosebumps on her arms and shuddered himself.

"Kiss me…" she whispered, her breath becoming ragged again, her eyes still closed. He'd watched closely as her full lips formed the words. He stroked them lightly with his index finger and she trembled.

He couldn't hold back anymore, despite everything wrong with this situation, despite all his misgivings. This is what he'd been dreaming of for over a year. She was his now.

He clutched the back of her neck and inclined his head to kiss her mouth. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. She felt as though she'd been set on fire; it was all she could do to keep herself steady. Of course, he helped her with that, wrapping his other strong arm around her waist and pulling her so that her chest was pressed up against his.

Instinctively, he began to gently push her underneath him on the bed. She obliged, and he settled between her legs, never letting go of her, never breaking their kiss.

As was inevitable, he felt a familiar swelling in his pants. He broke the kiss then, but their faces remained close together, their breaths short and uneven.

"Sylvie," he began, panting. "I…"

"It's alright," she whispered. "It's alright."

He couldn't stop himself from leaning down and kissing her again, this time reaching out with a long arm and pulling the remainder of her curtains closed, just in case someone decided to come upstairs.

He moved his head down to kiss her neck and collarbone area as she clumsily unbuttoned his shirt. He slowly moved his hand between them to unbutton her shirt, then ran his hand over her flat stomach.

Sylvie gasped at the feeling of his hand on her bare skin. She stroked his face with her hand and guided him to look into her eyes.

Once he caught a glimpse, he couldn't look away.

"Sirius," she said in the tiniest voice. They stared at each other for a moment, in which there was a perfect, pure, connection between them.

Something inside Sirius exploded. He had to have her. Emitting a growl, he kissed her so deeply that it almost hurt his lips, but he didn't care.

Sylvie's fingers entwined themselves in his hair. She arched her back, pressing her hips against his, feeling his considerable bulge against her thigh. He pulled off the shirt she was wearing while she unbuckled his belt and pushed down his pants, which he quickly kicked off. She wriggled out of her skirt soon after. The silence would have been deafening if not for their ragged breathing and the rustling of the sheets on her bed.

Sirius had to force himself to stop and savor the sight of the girl whom he'd been after for so long, underneath him in only her underwear, completely ready for him. It was almost too much for him when he saw that her eyes mirrored the hungry look of his own. She drew her legs up around his waist and pulled him down to kiss her again.

"I'm not a porcelain doll," she said in the kiss. "You're not going to break me."

He looked at her incredulously, but felt that he would explode with passion and anticipation. His face was set.

_If this is what she wants, then fine. I'll give it to her._

He drew a trembling hand down to where her underwear was and tried to pull them off of her, not thinking about her legs wrapped around him. His heartbeat quickened and he felt a violent urge to do away with them, the only obstruction to what he wanted most. He tugged at them with his strong arm and with a ripping sound that filled the air, they were off. Sylvie gasped and looked up at him with a vulnerability in her eyes he'd never seen before. He could hardly see straight for the throbbing between his legs seemed to pulsate throughout his body.

He leaned down and kissed her once more before guiding himself into her and thrusting, perhaps a bit too hard. She gripped his back and broke the kiss to let out a cry and wrapped her legs around his waist, which spurred him on.

He grunted and thrust into her harder and harder, losing himself in her, losing himself in every feeling he'd had for the past year and a half. Every feeling of fear and vulnerability was put into his thrusting. She dug her nails into his back, feeling lightheaded with the pain and pleasure of it all. He was thrusting a bit too hard for her, but she didn't care, she needed this oblivion. She threw one of her hands down on the bed next to her and gripped the sheets in her fist, trying to steady herself against him.

Out of his head at this point, Sirius grabbed this hand and held it above her head as he drove into her. Her arms was so hot that if he were in his right mind, he would have drew back his hand. She didn't gasp this time, only let out a small panting noise.

Sylvie had never felt anything like it before; it was simply inexplicable. He was making her writhe and pant and gasp just from the rhythmic friction of his thrusts. None of it went unnoticed by Sirius, who was getting closer by the minute. One of her legs drifted down his waist; he took hold of the crook in her knee and hitched it further back around him, causing her to call out his name, which only encouraged him.

After a tremendous buildup of anticipation, Sylvie's world exploded. She called out his name again as waves of electricity flowed through her body. It seemed to last forever.

Sirius could no longer control himself any more and with complete abandon, he let himself go as well.

They were both rendered motionless and speechless for a few minutes; Sirius had collapsed on top of her after a few moments of deep breathing to collect himself, he lifted his head and looked at her.

Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were closed. She was trembling slightly.

Slowly, he rolled over next to her and ran his hands through his hair. He couldn't bear to touch her again, not after what he'd done. This is not what he'd envisioned their first time together would be. He hated himself for losing control, he knew he'd been too rough with her. He'd gotten what he'd always wanted, but he hadn't wanted it like this.

Sylvie felt his presence next to her, but was completely lost in her own mind. She shared his thoughts; she hadn't wanted her first time with him to be like this, in this context. She'd gotten the oblivion she craved, but at what cost? He wasn't touching her, but she could feel his bad energy. It filled the air around them and made it thick like water.

She felt the all too familiar sting of tears beneath her eyelids, but still didn't open them.

"Sylvie…" he said, his voice sounding far away. "Sylvie, I'm so sorry." His voice was strained and ragged.

She shook her head, unable to speak, and moved her hands to cover her eyes.

He dared to glance over at her, and saw that she was wracked by uncontrollable sobbing. He had never loathed himself as much as he did in this moment.

He tentatively reached out his arm and touched her. She didn't flinch. He rolled over and collected her into his arms.

They stayed like that until she was done sobbing.

"I didn't want it to be like this, Silvery," he said, his voice still strained and raspy.

She shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it," she said quietly. "But stop apologizing. It was…it was…Let's just…"

But she couldn't find the words and neither could he. She would never have been able to sleep then, so she stayed silent.

The rain battered incessantly against the window next to her bed.

The silence between them was uncomfortable and nearly unbearable. She wanted nothing but to be close to him, but she just couldn't stand the silence anymore.

She wouldn't have noticed that her stomach was rumbling if Sirius hadn't noticed also.

"You haven't eaten anything today," he said grimly. "You must be starving."

She shrugged, her head tucked under his chin.

"Come, let's go down to the kitchens, you need to eat," he said softly.

She nodded. She didn't feel hungry. She didn't feel anything at all, except the desire to remain close to him for as long as she could.

They dressed in silence. When they felt they were presentable, they started towards the door. With a shock, Sylvie remembered Sirius' transformation. She stopped suddenly, and Sirius looked back at her expectantly.

"You'll have to turn into a dog again," she said. "The stairs…"

"Right," he said, kicking himself for not remembering. He regretted revealing the Marauders' secret to Sylvie now, but he couldn't take it back. He knew she would've found out eventually, but he also knew James would be furious with him. "About that…"

Sylvie nodded. "How long has it been going on for?" she asked in her quiet, dead voice.

"Since fall of our fifth year," he said.

She nodded nonchalantly. In other circumstances, she'd have been shocked and offended that she'd not been let in on the secret immediately, but that would have to wait until she felt like her normal self again. She didn't know when, or if, that would happen.

"It was good of you to do it for Remus," she said, thinking sadly of her brother. If she knew him well, he would be off by himself somewhere brooding about the day's events. They were more alike than she had realized. She hoped Vanessa was with him, she was so good to him.

Sirius nodded. He felt apprehensive around her and she sensed this. She didn't want him to feel that way. Despite the unwanted violence of their first time together, she felt closer to him than ever before. She looked up at him and lifted her arm to stroke his face, then gently pulled him down to kiss her softly.

He felt relieved when she did this. When they separated, he breathed, "I love you," resting his forehead against hers.

She nodded. "I love you, too," she said softly.

He sighed. "I'm going to change now, before anyone comes," he said. She nodded.

And again he shrunk into the shaggy black dog. Dusk had begun to fall outside. Sylvie peered out the door into the landing, to find that there was no one around. She beckoned the dog to follow her.

They quickly descended the staircase and told him at the bottom landing that she would check the common room for anyone who was there. She peeked out and noticed that several students had returned, obviously kept inside because of the rain and falling darkness.

"There are people out there," she said, feeling silly talking to a dog. "You'll have to change right here, and be quick about getting out the door."

The dog cocked its head at her.

"Well, what else do you propose we do? You're the one who got up there to begin with."

He looked at her silently once again, then, steeling himself, he changed back into Sirius.

Instantly, the siren rang and the stairs turned into a slide behind them. Sylvie exited first, Sirius right behind her.

The students who'd heard the alarm looked curiously at them, some shocked, some not so shocked. It _was_, Sirius Black, after all. If anyone were going to try to make it into the girls' dormitory, it would have been him.

Sylvie ignored them and looked up once again at Sirius, gripping his large hand firmly. He leaned down slightly and kissed the side of her head.

He noticed James glaring at him from across the room, Peter sitting dutifully at his side. Remus was thankfully nowhere to be seen. He would have to deal with that later, he knew. He sent an apologetic look back, but James was looking at Sylvie. He must have seen the horrible, dead look on her face, for his own visage crumpled in sadness.

They exited the common room together and Sirius led her silently to the kitchens. She kept herself very close to him; he had a warm and calming presence for her at this moment. She didn't know where they stood as far as their relationship was concerned, but she hardly cared. She just needed him near.

"Things will never be the same now," she said suddenly while they walked.

Sirius was surprised by her voice. "What do you mean, Silvery?" he asked, fondly using her nickname. He still felt uneasy about their act, about the dark side of himself he'd no doubt revealed to her without meaning to. Or did he mean to? Now she knew every part of him, every part of his psyche. And she still stood close to him. He'd be lying if he said he didn't want her again at that very moment. He had more self-control now, but now that he'd had a taste of her, she was like a drug. He didn't know how he'd manage not seeing her for the summer months.

"Everything will be different. My father…" she faltered, losing her breath at the thought of her loss. "Dumbledore told us my father was fighting against dark forces that have been collecting for a long time. And I heard my parents arguing about it before we came back from Christmas holidays."

Sirius stopped, looking at her face searchingly. He'd heard talk of that in his own house, as well, but in a very different capacity, he was sure. He was still bitter at the memory.

"I think you're right," he said slowly.

"What does it all mean?" she asked in a horrified whisper.

"It means that we're all going to have to toughen up and be strong. That's the only way to fight it," he said, thinking of his escape from his family's house and his final break from their dangerous ways.

Sylvie nodded, then walked on in silence, wishing to speak of it no more. There would be time for that later.

It was this day that Sylvie Lupin knew she was no longer a child, and that when the time came, she would do everything she could to help the forces of good, to make damned sure that the wholly good and just man that was her father did not die in vain. She was no longer a child, of this she was completely and utterly sure.

And another undeniable truth that was the warm light at the end of her present dark tunnel, which she allowed herself to believe freely for the first time: she was wholeheartedly, deeply, and irrevocably in love with Sirius Black.

On their way back from the kitchens (Sirius had convinced Sylvie to eat some buttered toast, offered willingly by the house elves), they ran into James, who was clearly still disturbed by Sirius' handling of the secret of the Marauders.

"Padfoot, we need to talk. Now," he said in a low but assertive voice.

Sirius eyed Sylvie pointedly. "Right now, Prongs?"

James looked at Sylvie too, his expression softening for a moment. But he believed that his friend had truly crossed a line in freely revealing their secret and couldn't contain his feelings. The day's shocking events, and the imminent truth that had been revealed to all involved had unhinged more than one person, obviously.

"Yeah, right now," James said.

"I won't tell anyone, James," Sylvie said softly, looking him right in the eye. "You know I won't. Remus is my brother."

James made a frustrated noise. "That's not the point."

Sirius was growing angrier with James by the minute. "You knew she would have found out eventually," he said, fighting to keep his voice level.

"You don't know that. This was _our _secret!" James said in a strained voice.

Sirius glared at him. "It's high time you grew up, Prongs. I love you like a brother, but you need to face the fact that not everyone is a child and not everyone is inclined to keep childish secrets, especially from the ones they love. I did what I had to, to get to Sylvie," he said as evenly as he could.

James huffed and shook his head, crossing his arms.

But as calm as Sirius tried to remain for Sylvie's sake, he just couldn't reign in his famous temper. "But I guess it's easy for you to focus on trivial things, given that you've had the cushiest life of all," he snapped. "The biggest problem you've had growing up is deciding what kind of broomstick you'd like your mother to buy you."

James opened his mouth then closed it again, and took a threatening step towards Sirius.

"_Stop it!_" Sylvie shrieked, stepping in front of Sirius and glaring at James with a vicious look in her eye. "The world as we know it could very well be coming to an end if nothing is done to stop it, and you're concerned with your bleeding idea of brotherhood? What is your stupid secret going to be worth if everyone we love is going to be in danger? You've known me since I was eleven years old, long enough to know that I'm trustworthy. Why don't you grow up and worry about your own parents, who I'm sure aren't sitting idly by arguing about Animagi and broomsticks, not at this date and hour." She delivered her tirade with a ferocity that was altogether new to her.

They both looked at her incredulously, then back at each other. They heard more footsteps behind them and turned to see Remus and Vanessa walking towards them, both looking grave.

Vanessa ran to Sylvie and enveloped her in a huge hug. "I'm so sorry, Sylvie," she said, close to tears. "I'm so, so sorry."

"Thanks, Ness," Sylvie said shakily, detaching herself from her friend. She wished James, who was still wearing a stony expression, would go away. Even though she still loved him like a brother, there was only so much she could take on this day.

James still held a stony expression, but he knew better than to keep on Sirius about what he'd done, especially after Sylvie had ripped him apart, and especially in front of Remus.

"We were just on our way back from the kitchens," Sirius said, his hand gripping Sylvie's shoulder steadily. She glanced up at him, thankful for the support.

"We were just on our way there," Vanessa said.

Remus hadn't uttered a word, his face sullen. He looked years older than his age of 17. He wasn't even really listening to the exchange of his friends. He perked up his head at the sound of footsteps coming from the opposite direction.

Into view came Mulciber, Avery, and another Slytherin friend.

"Why so grave, Lupin?" Mulciber sneered at Remus. Sylvie glared at him, knowing then that Mulciber must know about her father's death already.

"Shove off, you bastard," Sirius growled, unconsciously rolling up the sleeve of his shirt.

James, despite his altercation with Sirius, immediately stood next to his friend, drawing himself to his full, tall height, only a few inches shorter than Sirius.

"Or you'll what?" piped up the wiry Avery. "Lupin's daddy certainly won't be able to arrest us anymore."

Remus made a frustrated noise and tried to push through his friends, who did all they could to control him. The werewolf in him sometimes gave him a little extra strength; he wasn't as tall as Sirius and James, but it was all they could do to restrain him.

They didn't notice Sylvie step forward.

Mulciber laughed maliciously. "Yeah, Fenrir Greyback saw to that, our dads told us all about it today in a letter," he said thickly.

Sylvie's breath quickened. She felt herself losing control of her sense of reason, and began to wrack her brain for the most heinous spell she remembered. Her mind traveled back to a snippet of conversation she'd heard between Snape and Mulciber himself, the year before, and Snape had described a new curse he'd developed, a vicious one at that…

She noticed Avery glaring at her. "Dumbstruck, Sylvie?" he sneered. "Missing Daddy?"

She narrowed her eyes and felt her humanity leave her, only for a moment, which was all she needed.

She heard Mulciber speaking, vaguely. "Yeah, I'll bet ickle Sylvie is. I heard he tried to run before Greyback got him…" he coudn't finish the thought before Sirius and James flew at him, but Remus was quicker. He tried to kick and punch every inch he could reach, not satisfied until he drew blood.

But the blood was draining from Avery's face at that moment, for the express reason that it was draining out of the front of him. For Sylvie had screamed "_Sectumsempra!_" and lashed her wand out as if it were a sword. The spell had sliced Avery's chest, and in the outbreak of scuffle, no one noticed his profuse bleeding until he had sunken to his knees, clutching his wound.

Sirius was the first to glance over at the two of them. Once he saw the blood splashing on the floor, he knew the situation was dire. Then, Vanessa shrieked, causing James to turn and stop dead, and the others to follow suit. Remus was the last to stop and look at her, disbelief dawning on his sunken face.

"Sylvie…" he gasped.

Sylvie made no move to help him, and showed no shock at what she'd done. She lowered her wand hand slowly.

Mulciber was wailing, clearly on the verge of tears and being sick. "They'll expel you, you awful Half-Blood bitch! You've killed him!"

Sylvie's face was hard and set, and she spoke slowly and deliberately. "I'd like to see you prove that. The spell I used was invented by Severus Snape, and I'm assuming only Slytherins have used it." She glanced down at the rapidly fading Avery. "It's not so nice to have your own evilness turned back upon you, is it?" she said defiantly. Then, more softly, "This won't be the end of it."

Her friends watched her in horror. Sirius was the only one who understood. He wasn't the only one with darkness in him. He'd seen it come out in her before, when she broke his nose, when she spurned him once and again, when she slept with Callahan, when she fought with him in the wake of that disastrous Valentine's Day. Almost always in defense of those she loved. He looked at her thoughtfully, unaffected by the gore in front of him; he hadn't realized until this point how alike they were.

None of the others were in line with this thinking, it seemed. Vanessa looked terrified. "Sylvie, we should…"

But Sylvie promptly turned and began to walk briskly away, saying clearly, "You should get your friend to the hospital wing, Mulicber, I think he's bleeding out." She thought briefly of the time the pair of them had cursed her face when she was a first year and felt satisfied.

Everyone followed suit. Remus caught up with her. "Sylvie, they were right, you could be expelled, you could have killed him!"

"They won't expel me, McGonagall loves me, and so does Slughorn, the head of their house. No teacher will believe that I did that to him, not in a million years," she said, not breaking her stride. She knew that she and Remus would be going home that night, they had to be. All she wanted was to be with her mother. She was surprised at her ability to be so cruel, even in the face of the Slytherins' own cruelty, but she didn't have the energy to sort it out.

"I'll tell you one thing," Sirius, who had also caught up to her, murmured. "By the time next term starts, we'll have every Slytherin after our blood."

She glanced up at him. He wanted to kiss her, she could see it in his eyes. Finally, she understood his temper and his violence. One can only stand by and take abuse for so long, and it didn't matter from whom. Sylvie had always been ferociously defensive of those she loved, and she'd always had a reckless streak, even if she never called it that before. She had come to terms with the dark side of her personality that had existed her entire life within the span of a few hours, and she wasn't sure she liked it, but she kept that to herself.

"Let them talk," she said, aware that the others were still awestruck, and that they'd probably never look at her the same way again. She was starting to feel like herself again, panicking slightly, her words wavering, but she spoke with conviction nonetheless. "They'll all be after out blood eventually anyway, with the way things are going. That's more than obvious now. So let them talk, and let them come."


End file.
